Max's Journal
by FantasyAddict97-10
Summary: Ella made me do it! She's paying me 100 dollars to write in this thing every few days. I won't be writing all those mushy feelings in here, so get over it! I must be a sucker for money. And Disclaimer: I do not own MR.
1. Feb 24,2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**Feb. 24, 2010**

I know this a TOTALLY out of character, but Ella made me do it. She's gone to France with her friend for the rest of the school year, then to cheer camp this summer. She's paying me $100 to write in this ever few days in this unused JOURNAL of hers. She's already given me $20 before she left. She'll give me the other (What, $80? I've never been good in math) When she gets back if I keep this up. I have a feeling she'll be reading this against my will. I guess I'm s sucker for money. I'm talking to Ella whenever I say 'you' by the way.

Sorry, El. I won't be writing all those mushy feelings junk everyone else writes. You can't pay me enough to do that. I won't be like, 'oh, this cute boy I didn't even know started flirting with this girl and I'm so jealous!!!' I'm NOT that kind of girl. So get over it!

Well, I might as well start this morning, when the Dreaded Three showed up (no offense, El, but they're awful). Their last name is Smith. It's Mom's friend from his school, Samantha, a single mom of her two twin daughters.

"Heh hi, Martinez's!" Sam cooed as she opened the door, not even knocking. Her daughters appeared behind her, and Fang nearly choked on his cereal. I rolled my eyes. They both had dark red hair reaching past their shoulders, exactly the same length, both slim as a bean pole. One was just a little taller then the other. "Hi, hi, Martinez's!" they said together, way too perky, as if they were Irish. Their blue eyes sparkled.

"Sammy!" Mom said, standing up quickly. We had been warned of their arrival, but didn't know they were coming this early. Nudge was airing out her wings!

I dove across the table, landing hard on the floor, and threw my jacket at her. Nudge held her wings in tight as she slipped on the jacket. The twins look surprised, but Samantha hadn't been paying attention, too busy talking to Mom.

Mom turned around when Nudge safely had the jacket on, looking relieved that they hadn't seen Nudge's wings. This is Samantha Smith, my friend from high school, and her two beautiful daughters"-- Fang silently seconded that, making my blood boil--"Isabelle and Isabella."

"I'm Isabelle," said the shorter one. "Call me Is."

"I'm Isabella," said the taller one. "Call me Bella."

Is and Bella. Maybe I could remember that. They smiled at Fang, making my blood boil more. I stood up from the floor and stopped myself from slapping them. Mom introduced us all, and mu stomach flipped when she introduced Fang.

I can already tell those girls aren't going to make it outta here alive.

-Later That Same Morning-

"Max, Fang, show Is and Bella around town," Mom said.

WHAT?!?

"This is the first time they've been here," Mom said. "Sam came once before they were born."

"Before..." Bella didn't, couldn't finish. She buried her face in her hands. Is put a supporting hand on her shoulder, looking around nervously.

"Our father," she said quietly, "passed away in a car accident when we were six." Bella hiccuped.

Well, I learned that they're both fourteen (Fang's eyes lit up at that, I nearly choked on my nacho), and that they live in Maryland. They love to shop, and FLIRT!!! Especially with your common emo kid. Yep, I choked before long.

I turned down Main Street, the biggest mistake of my life. That's where everything went wrong, where I would soon give them a lesson they'd never forget, and something that would get me grounded and locked in my room for the next year. Hey, they started it!

"The mall!" Bella and Is cried out. "Let's go!" Yep, still together. Do they rehearse or something?"

We were pulled in the mall, or rather they pulled Fang and Fang pulled me. It was like those girls had stepped in a little piece of Heaven instead of a little two-story shopping mall.

Is looked at us, and her nose wrinkled."Fang," she said, "Max, you need some new clothes." I don't think it was a coincidence Is said Fang first.

Bella grabbed our wrists, well, my wrist, Fang's hand (I tried to hide my anger) and pulled us in the Macy's store.

Where did they take us? The boys' section. What were they looking through? Brightly colored jackets.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed one of the black ones they had purposely passed and shoved it at him. "Black, girls, black!" I nearly cracked up at the look they gave me. That's what happens when someone who thinks they know everything about a person they just met crosses someone who's known that person their whole life. I know more about him then both of them put together.

"Uh...I don't really need a new jacket, or new clothes," Fang said, slipping it back on the rack.

"Black!" Bella said. She ran over to another rack and stripped it of a black shirt with a blaring amp on it. She gave it to him and shoved him towards the dressing room. I thought I saw a tiny flair in his eyes as he walked reluctantly to the dressing room.

Once he was gone, Is and Bella stifled screeches. "Um! He is so _fine!"_they said together.

"Fine?" I repeated, crossing my arms over my chest. "That doesn't mean anything. What's his favorite breakfast cereal?"

Bella bit her lip as Is looked around nervously. "Um...." Is started. "Cheerios?"

I made the noise of a buzzer in a game show. "Wrong. Captain Crunch or Wheat Squares, depends on what mood he's in. Then what's.....what's his favorite candy bar? Soda?"

This time Bella tried to answer. "Um.....butterfingers, I guess, his fav candy bar. And the soda....um......orange or grape. That's all I got."

Again, I would make the perfect game show buzzer. "Nope. If there's a rare occasion that Mom will let us at candy or any drink except water or tea, he will always go for the Snickers or Twix bar, and the Coke-Cola cans. If we don't have that, he'll settle for a Dr. Pepper." I was laughing inside. These girls looked like they were about to crack. This was mostly for my own amusement.

"Who cares?" Is said. "He's the hottest thing in this mall, if you know what I'm sayin."

I knew perfectly what she was saying. She was calling Fang 'hot' and 'fine' when she knew nothing about him! I hardly realized my hands curling into fists. I growled a little, but not enough to set off the strange-cells of they're perky personalities.

Fang walked over to us, looking like he was about to suffocate in the too-tight shirt. "Did you guys ever think about checking the _sizes?"_

I laughed as I took down a XL and shoved it at him. I saw that he had a M on. "Go change before you turn blue."

He shot me a half smile as he walked towards the dressing rooms again, tugging at the collar. I turned back to the girls. "He doesn't wear a medium! Where did you get _that_ idea?"

Bella looked at the ground and Is put her hand on her sister's shoulder. Was it just me or did Bella perk up a little?

I frowned. "What's up with that?"

Bella and Is looked up. "What's up with what?" Is asked.

"Whenever Bella seems a little down, Is puts her hand on her shoulder and Bella seems to perk up."

"Oh! Um," she looked at Bella nervously. "That's one way you can tell us apart, or personalities. I'm more of the perky encourager, and I talk more often. Bella can offended more and let down. She's quieter. So.....yeah."

"You didn't answer my question, Is. I know your the encourager."

Is swollowed hard. "I can't tell you that," she said. She looked at the floor with her sister.

"What's wrong with them?" Fang asked, sneaking up behind me.

I spun around, my heart racing. "Fang! Quit that! Oh, that looks like it fits much better."

Bella looked up, then Is. "Yeah, it does!" she said, shoving Is off. "Much better! So, you're an extra large, huh?" She walked quickly up to him, and my blood boiled (my blood boiled a lot today, but that's not the last time today). "So, do you like it?"

Fang shot a look at me. "Uh, sure." He looked back down at Bella, who seemed to step closer and closer to him. He backed up and Bella stepped up again.

"What, you scared?" Fang backed into the wall, and Is was on one side of him. Whoa! She was just behind me.... Bella walked up until she was almost touching him. She giggled. Then, without warning, she threw her hands around his neck and kissed him full of the lips.

My mouth dropped as my fists got tighter. Is was grinning wildly, watching her sister make out with Fang against his will. He tried to move, but wherever he tried to go Is was right there. How did she do that? Finally Fang jumped to the side, breaking Bella's kiss. He wiped his lips with his sleeve.

"Fang, go change," I said, ready to punch Bella's grin right off her face.

"What?"

"Fang," I said, giving him my 'death glare'. I'm not in the mood to explain right now. "GO. CHANGE. NOW."

Fang slowly slipped towards the dressing rooms again. Bella and Is watched, giggling as she watched him disappear around the corner. Then she caught my glare. "What?"

"You know exactly well, you perky freak!" I took out my earrings that hung down (Ella, I WILL get you back for that), the natral sign of a fight. "How dare you!" I said that so loud the entire Macy's store got quiet. And that's big store! "You just met him!"

"So?" Bella asked. "He's hot."

I knew my face was getting red from my anger. "Hot? That does mean anything! I'm sure every girl in this store thinks he's a hunk, too, but you don't see them making out with him against his will! No, cause they have a brain! They haven't known him since they could talk! Who could? That's right, _me."_

"Don't talk to my sister that way!" Is shouted. Too bad, I was actually starting to like Is.

"Fine, then you take me up in a fight!"

"No, little sis!" Bella said, holding Is back. "This is my fight!"

"Yeah, Isabelle! Listen to Isabella! This is her fight! What 'ch waitin for, Bella? Scared?" It's so fun using other people's words against them, especilly with Is or Bella. It's funny to see her face turn bright red, almost as firey as her hair.

"No, I'm not!" Bella said. She pushed Is back and walked up to me. She looked to the side at Fang, who was in his normal clothes, already hung up the two shirts. "This one's for you. Now," she said, taking out her own earrings. She tossed them at Is. "What 'ch waitin for?"

I almost laughted. "Do you really want to do this, girl? I can knock you out in a split second."

Bella raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Then show me!"

I threw a punch at the head, but she ducked. She swung out her leg to trip me. I stopped it and grabbed it, threatening to break it. I leaned down close to her ear. "Never kiss him again," I growled. Bella nodded, despite the sering pain in her leg. One quick face punch burst her lip, and it started to bleed as I let her go. She scrambled back up to her feet.

"You think your done?" she asked. "Not quite. We Smiths can't be taken down by a busted lip!"

I nearly cracked up. Was this girl nuts? Would I have to break her nose before she backed down? I didn't care. I shot a blow to her face, hitting her in the jaw. The crowd gasped as Bella's head shot to the left, my left, her right. But she turned, jerked her jaw back in place, and lunged for me. I tried to move but she slapped me, leaving a hand print on my cheek.

Then, as Bella fell to the ground, I did something I would regret in my wildest dreams.

That's when I extended my wings.

Gasps and murmurs flooded through the crowd as they watched. Is hurried over to Bella and whispered something in her ear. Bella nodded. They both looked up at me in shock. Fang ran over to me and tried to fake a laugh, it wasn't working.

"What are you doing?!" he whispered. "You can't extend your wings in a crowded store!"

"I could, and I did," I snarled back. Then I turned to Bella. "Don't think you're gonna do that again, do ya?" Bella just stared at me in shock. I flapped my wings a little as I walked over to her. A rack of dark-washed jeans fell and shirts shook, threatening to fall. I knew that security would show up any second, but that didn't stop me. I shot a look at the clerk, who was calling Mom. She recognized me from the countless shopping sprees she, you, Nudge, and Angel had dragged me on. She had my number loaded in the computer.

The death glare I gave her made her drop the phone and back to against the wall. She pressed another button for security.

Bella quickly shook her head. "N-no."

"Good girl. Cause if you did, I really will have to break your leg." I turned quickly, hitting Is and Bella in the head before they even realized what was happening. The force wasn't enough to knock them out cold, just shove them backwards. I pulled in my wings tight and slipped on my jacket. Not waiting for the others, I slipped out of Macy's before the police arrived, Fang right behind me. We left the girls shocked. They could just take a cab.

Unfortunately, that clerk had told Mom everything before I caught her.

I won't tell you about the fight when I got home, Ella. Just a bunch of screaming, yelling, crying, ect. ect. I was sent to my room for the rest of the day, which is where I am now, writing in this thing. Ella, you better pay me DOUBLE for haveing to go through the Dreaded Three.

-Maximum


	2. Feb 27, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**Feb 27, 2010**

Can you believe I waited until NOW to come out of my room? And what did I find?

Is and Bella with their mouths still hanging open?

Yep.

Fang completely ignoring them?

YEAH!!!!!!

Reporters and photographers trying to burst through the doors and windows to get a shot of us?

Unfortunately.

Mom had went to pick us Is and Bella at Macy's where we had left them, still staring at the door with their mouths hanging open. They haven't closed them since. Not even in their sleep, I'm surprised spiders haven't made webs in their mouths yet. Now THAT would be funny!!!

Besides that, Mom is still red in the face whenever she sees me. Sam totally avoids me, and spends all her time trying to close her daughters mouths. It looks like a mom spoon-feeding a baby! Angel, Nudge, Gazzy, and Iggy really don't care that much about it all, except for when a reporter threw a magazine in the window with my picture on the cover, wings open. Fang and I have never been more close. Thanks to him I'm able to get a little fresh air, unlike the rest of the Flock. He's tackled my reporters, but they all want to know about me.

You're probably wanting to know about Total, don't you El? After you left, he broke down and went to spend some time with Akila and the scientists from Antarctica. He should be coming back soon. Oh, and he and Akila were married yesterday. I don't know how they did the rings, or the tux, or the dress, or anything really. What vows do you give at a wedding for dogs?? Total says he'll come visit before they have their fist littler of pups. PUPPIES!!! Apparently Angel is going to be a grandma way earlier then anyone expected.

Hehe. Angel a grandma! Well, Total is her dog, no thanks to Fang.

But the real news started at breakfast today. A total disaster. Or, a disaster for me. A dream come true for Is and Bella. Mom was watching the Arizona News with reporter Cindy Wynn, standing right outside out house. And it all started with four words from Ig:

"We're out of milk!"

"IG!" I yelled. "We're right here, you don't have to scream."

"Sorry," he said. His stomach growled. "But I can't make pancakes without milk."

"Just make cereal."

"Didn't you hear me? No milk! And I refuse to eat dry cereal!" His eyes flickered to everyone around the table. Don't ask how he did that, I have no clue. Or how he found out there's no milk...unless he felt everything in there. Wow, that would be hard. Especially if he grabbed that soft cheese....eww. Mom really should put that in a package. It's going to spoil soon.

Fang's eyes flickered over to me. "Think we can make it downtown?"

I sighed and stood up. "I think I can. Those reporters gotta go. I'll be back in a little bit." I abandoned my protein bar and grabbed my jacket, ignoring Fang trying to stop me. I slid it on and but my hood up with my hand on the door. They weren't going to get the best of me this time.

My heart pounding, I threw open the door and jumped off the stairs, running with top speed down the street, trying to keep it as humanly possible as possible. Reporters ran after me and photographers snapped their pictures. I know I'll be in the newspaper tomorrow, all the magazines, every picture in every hand. I didn't care.

They followed me to the corner, where I zipped in the woods, trees packed tightly together. They couldn't follow, just snapped some pictures until I was out of sight. I hid behind a tree until they left, and until my heart stopped running a marathon. Soon it was so quite I could hear myself breath. Almost hear myself shaking. I quietly stepped out from behind a tree. Everyone was gone. I finally got to the store unnoticed by the reporters in the streets. Thank you big crowds!!

I walked into the store and grabbed some milk. I checked out without anyone noticing.

But when I got outside, it started to rain. I tightened my coat around me. Everyone ran for cover, whipped out umbrellas and rain jackets, the reporters jogging for their trucks. I was one of the few prepared. The crowd was spread out, easily seeing every person. A nosey reporter spotted me and jumped out of the van. I turned and ran. The milk just got heavier as my arm grew tired and more rain fell in the bag. My sneakers were full of water, so he caught me.

Next thing I knew, I was in the middle of a circle of reporters, all trying to ask a question or take a picture. I tried to shove past them, but they were strong! They blared their questions at me, all together, and it just sounded like gibberish. But one reporter yelled a question that made me stop fighting. "Why did you fight that girl? Is he your boyfriend?"

I stopped and silenced the reporters, looking straight at the woman that said it. I reconized her from some Arizona news show, Cindy Wynn. I was now soaked, the rain coming down hard. I wiped rain off my forehead and pointlessly tried to ring out my hair. Why did I fight Bella? Other then the reasion she was a complete...not gonna say it....but I attacked her because she kissed Fang. Thinking back, I realized that was a real bonehead move. Was I--was I jelous of Is and Bella?

The reporter held out the mike, waiting for me to answer, a news camera streaming live. I knew everyone back at the house was watching. Cindy's red hair was a few shades darker wet then it really was, her greedy green eyes beading down on me. She looked like a Christmas Caroler gone wrong. I opened my mouth, but then closed it. I really had no clue. "I..." I started. "I don't know. I was.." I took a deep breath as I carefully prepared my words.

"I loved him," I blurted out. My eyes widened as I realized what I said, and so did Cindy's. I blushed, then my face turned full red. No photographer dared to snap a picture, no one moved. Thank goodess Cindy stepped in.

"So she was trying to steal your boyfriend?"

I bit my lip, my face clearing a little but still bright red. I shook my head. "No. He....he...." I didn't want to say what I was thinking. But it spilled out of my mouth. "He deserves better then me." Again my face tured brighter red, and I could almost hear the gasps of Fang, Is, and Bella. Bella's dream come true.

Why did I act like such a jerk on camera? I was crying, literally. Thank goodness no one knew, the rain was pounding hard now, and we had to yell to hear each other over the noise.

Cindy knew my embarressment, so she ended the interview by stepping in front of the camera. "You heard it here, folks. The real reason Maximum attacked. From right her in downtown Mesa, I'm Cindy Wynn."

By the cameraman putting up the camera, I knew we were done. I looked nervously around at the other reporters and photographers, who had already put up all their cameras to protect them from the rain. Cindy fanned out the reporters and they all went back to their trucks. She told her cameraman she would be there in a second. I knew she wanted to talk to me.

Cindy smiled sweetly. "M'dear, m'dear, the camera makes people say things they thought they would never reviel."

I smirked. "Tell me about it. All of them were tuned in to that station, they all watched me say that. i just revieled something to him I told myself I'd never be dumb enough to reviel." That's all it was. I was stupid, and dumb, and now I hate myself for that. How would I ever face Fang? And worse, how did I know she wasn't streaming right now?

She smiled again, wiping a wet strand of red hair out of her face. "You know, Maximum, I'm the relationship counseler for Brodway Teens magizine. I get hundreds of letters a day from depressed teens around the world, and over 1/3 of them are in way worse positions then you are now."

"I'd hate to be in their shoes, then."

"I would, too. And if you ever want help with this boy, whoever he is, give me a call." She smiled again and slipped a buisness card in the pocket of my windbreaker. "Anything at all." She jogged back to her truck and tried to ring out her long hair.

I smiled. Wait--what was I doing?? This girl was a reporter, someone who do anything for a good story!! Was I really believing her?

Not feeling like walking all the way back to the house, I took a bus back, that convinetly stopped right in front of my driveway. Here we go again.

I thinked the bus driver and walked down the driveway. My hand was shaking so much I could hardly reach the doornob. I opened the door and threw the jug of milk on the camera. I looked around the table.

Mom, Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy were all chewing on dry cereal, Iggy with a disgusted look on hid face. I could hardly look into the other's eyes. Is looked amazed, her mouth looking like she was about to speak, but she didn't say anything. It looked like she was trying to hold back a smile. Bella just looked amazed, trying to get closer to....Fang, every second. She just looked amazed, blown away. And Fang, I could only look into his eyes for a second. He looked shocked, amazed, loving, maybe even a little shocked.

I rung out my hair in the sink and ran off to my room, closing the door behind me, and colapsing on my bed.

Which is where I am now. I finally got the courage to go out of my room, and I end up embarrising myself even worse. I haven't stopped crying yet. I probably won't come out of my room even longer this time. I don't think I can face Fang ever again. You're so lucky you aren't here, El. I'll probably still be here when you get back.

--Maximum


	3. March 1, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**March 1, 2010**

The only time I came out of my room was for lunch, not breakfast or dinner. Thank goodness there was a bathroom attached to my room. And when I did come out for lunch, I fixed my plate, avoided eye contact and questions from anyone, and disappeared in my room. So yeah, there's a days stack of dirty plates in my room.

But earlier today, after the breakfast I once again didn't show up for, I was laying on my bed, thinking about possibly calling Cindy Wynn. There was a knock on my door. I bolted up, hitting my head on the top bunk. "Ow! Who is it?"

"Fang."

I sucked in breath. Fang. I wasn't ready to face him yet, maybe when we were sixty and on our death beds I would look at him.

"Max, open the door," he said.

I didn't answer. My breathing was heavy, and I was ready to pound my head against the wall, not the top bunk of the bed. I shouldn't have yelled 'Who is it.' Maybe he would think I was asleep. Asleep! That's a good idea. I dove under my covers and closed my eyes.

Then I heard laughing. Fang had picked my lock and came right in without a sound. "You think that's going to fool me, Max?" I didn't answer, pretending I was deeper asleep. He sighed. "I hate to do this, Max, but I have no choice." He reached down and started to tickle me. I couldn't help but smile.

"Stop!" I said, slapping his hand away. He didn't stop. "STOP!" I sat up fast, banging my head on the top bunk. "UGH!"

"Sorry," he said. "I saw what you said on Arizona News."

"Naw dip, Sherlock," I said sarcastically. "Why do you think I've been in here the past few days?"

He shrugged. "That's what I figured. "That reporter got a lot out of you."

I groaned, letting myself fall of the bed hard, and of course, I had to hit my head on the wall. I groaned louder and pulled the covers over my head. Not only did I despritly wish this coversation was over, I had a pounding headache. "What's your point?" I mumbled.

"My point? That you can't change the past, and you have to face it sometime. So lets pretend it never happened.

"Bella and Is."

"Well, Is and Bella will probably still bug you about it, but other then that, how about we forget that ever happened?"

"I'll come out of you can get those reporters to leave."

He sighed. "Okay. There's only a few left. I'll go get rid of them." He stood up and walked out. I peeked over my covers, waiting until he closed the door behind him to sit up, or course, hitting my head again. I groaned as I supported myself with my elbows.

I threw the covers back with a sigh and stood up, careful to dodge the bar of the bunk. Gently I opened the door and peeked through. Everything seemed fine, the usual screaming, the occasional Gazzy/Iggy explosion. I opened the door the rest of the way and sneaked out. Was I seriously considering calling Cindy Wynn??? She's a reporter. Reporters do anything for good stories. If I called her, I would have to be very careful what I saw. There's only one person who can help me now, a master of words.

Nudge.

I pounded on her door and burst in without an answer. Nudge was sitting on her bed listening to her IPod, and took out the ear buds when she realized it was me. "Oh, Max. At least your coming out of your room."

"Yeah, yeah. Nudge, I need--UGH!!!" I had hit my head again against the door. "REALLY????"

Nudge giggled.

"Anyway," I said, rubbing my forehead. "You remember the....news station?"

"Arizona News? Yeah."

"The news-lady, Cindy Wynn, was the one to get me to say.....certain things......and said she was a relationship blogger on some magazine, and gave me her number to call if I needed anything. But she is a reporter who will do anything for a good story, so I can't say anything embarrassing unless I want it everywhere tomorrow."

"You mean Broadway Teens? I read that all the time, Ella gets those monthly editions and lets me read them. I've seen that article. Cindy Wynn is the advise person. Yeah, I'll help. But there's one problem, and we'll need--"

"You Angeled?" Angel said from the doorway. I jumped.

"I suppose you know why we need you," Nudge said. Angel nodded, a grin on her face. "Max, call her. Angel, keep up with their conversations."

Shooting Angel a glance, I dialed Cindy's number and waited as it rang. Then a voice came up. "Cindy Wynn, relationship advice columnist. How may I help you?"

"Cindy--it's Maximum."

"Ah, Max, is it alright if I call you Max?"

"Uh..." I waited to see if Nudge would give me any pointers, but she didn't. "M-Max is fine. Everyone calls me Max."

"So....Max.....I suppose you want advice with the boy? Tell me the latest news."

_Nudge says careful!_ Angel said. _Don't say Fang's name! Say Nick!_

"Well, F--Nick and the others were at home and saw everything. Then...I camped out in my room the last few nights, not coming out, and now....."

_Really? Return of Fnick?_

_Yep!_ I thought. I continued with Cindy. "He came in my room and agreed to forget everything I said." _STOP, STOP, STOP!!!_ I told myself. _You're giving her WAY too much of a juicy story!!_ I can just see the headlines now: MAXIMUM AND NICK--WILL IT LAST?

"When did that happen?" Cindy asked.

"Today." I covered my mouth, not wanting to give her anything else.

"Ahh, you called me right on time, Max. I understand you would not want this in Broadway Teens. It will stay between us, all right? Now, first of all, don't hold in your real feelings. Let it out. How do you really feel about Nick?"

_Watch it, Max, watch it!_

"Oh, um..." I didn't trust Cindy not to put it somewhere. How could I answer her without saying too much? "I...." What I said next spilled out of my mouth before I could stop it. "I'm totally and completely in love with him."

My hand flew up to my mouth again as I turned bright red. I did NOT just say that!!! I pressed the end button before I could say anything else and glanced up at Nudge and Angel, their eyebrows raised in shock. "You don't think...." I started. "You don't think she could be so foul as to publish that somewhere, do you?"

"It's the press, Max," Angel said. "They'll do anything for a great story."

"Can you read her mind? Is she going to...." I couldn't say it.

Angel pursed her lips. "Sorry, Max."

Amazingly, no. I didn't run screaming to my room. I went in in family room and waited as Fang chased away the reporters. Then Mom turned on the 12 o'clock news, where Cindy Wynn was reporting the recent news, a phone call. It sounded strangely like....NO!!!

"I'm totally and completely in love with him," said the TV recording. It sounded like I was quoting Twilight.

"There you have it, folks," Cindy said as the TV panned away from the recording and on her. "Maximum dishes more truth about the boy Nick. No news yet about the girl she fought in the Mesa mall store Macy's. Reports as soon as possible." Then it cut to commercial.

Unfortunately, Fang had to walk in when Mom turned on the TV.

Fang's eyes shot towards me, along with everyone else's. My grew even more red. No way she would do it that quick! I knew she would do it, but only two and a half hours later??? Of course, grins were spread on Is and Bella's faces. Sam looked lost in her little world, didn't even hear the news report.

My face dropped in my hands. I felt Nudge stand up beside me and walk off. Someone else sat in her place. I didn't realize that everyone was gone until ten minutes later, when I heard Mom clank dishes for lunch in the kitchen down the hall, making me peek though my fingers. Even Is and Bella were gone, and Sam. Who was sitting beside me? Who else?

I waited until he spoke. "Those reporters will do anything for a good story. Since when have you been talking so formally?"

_Since about 10 o'clock this morning,_ I thought. I stood up and walked towards the kitchen, leaving Fang sitting by himself.

So I've just watched Mom and Iggy cook lunch, now I'm sitting in the living room writing in this. I don't know where Fang is, probably trying to escape Bella. I just hope next time I'll be writing about something GOOD that happened, not bad.

--Maximum


	4. March 6, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**March 6, 2010**

I was able to avoid Fang, and Is, and Bella.....and Sam......and Mom....I think that's it, the day after Cindy's broadcast. I was so stupid, I actuallythought Cindy Wynn was my friend! She embarrassed me the first time, by accident, I guess. But the second time, it was very much on purpose. She was a reporter and a columnist. She does anything for a good story, anything to help her career by getting the latest news and the biggest craze. Right then, I was the biggest craze. I guess after her broadcast I got even more popular.

Not only that, but Ella, your March issue of Broadway Teens came in on the 2nd and Nudge flipped to Cindy's colume. She had wrote about me in there, too. I learned one thing, never trust reporters, no matter how friendly they seem.

Earlier this morning, Nudge found the address for the Broadway Teens andthe Arizona News. I found her doing a broadcast for the Arizona News, and I wasn't allowed in. "You must wait until it's finished," said the guard at the door.

"That will be two hours from now! And I need to talk to Cindy Wynn desperately." Since when did I use 'despretly'? Ugh, Cindy has done more then embarrass me, she's expanded my vocabulary. Great. I wanted to kill the woman even more now.

The guard raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

This I couldn't tell. I glanced nervously around. "Because.... my mother is her close friend and was put in the hospital a few hours ago. She keeps calling her name. The doctors wanted me to get her!" Talk about a huge lie.

"Oh, okay. Go on in and she'll be with you momentarily. Go in the lobby." The guard opened the door and let me in. There was a long, narrow hall with doors everywhere. The one on the right said 'Lobby.' I pushed open the door and walked in.

The lobby had white and gold checkered tiles, the gold so bright it hurt my eyes. Yellow walls that looked like a baby threw up on them and a plain white ceiling. There wasn't anything on the walls, except for lines and lines of TVs along the long wall to my right. There was nothing on the floor except a few sofas and chairs here and there.

"This place needs serious re-decorating," I said aloud to myself. I sat down on an ugly yellow sofa, that was actually comfortable. All the TVs on the walls were tuned in to a live Arizona News broadcast, and who was on the screen but Cindy Wynn. She was sitting at a desk with the state of Arizona behind her, a mike and note cards in front of her. She thanked the person who had introduced her and looked at the camera seriously.

"Many of you have heard about the bird-girl Maximum, Max for short," Cindy said. I threw my head back and let out a long groan. Not this again! Was this woman trying to kill me? What embarrassing news was she going to tell about me this time? "A few days ago she reviled about Nick, the young man that was supposedly the base of the cat fight in the Mesa Mall's Macy's." Talk about a tongue twister. Cindy herself had trouble saying it. "Now, the other girl of the fight, Isabella Smith, tells her side of the story."

"WHAT?!" I yelled aloud, standing up. How could Bella do this? She would do anything to get Fang to like her, and hate me. She was able to say anything she wanted to about me. The screen moved to a phone chat, the state of Arizona a background yellow. What's with this news company and yellow?? As each person from the call said something, the letters appeared on the screen for the deaf. The words Ciny said was in dark yellow, amazingly visible, and Bella's words were in back.

I didn't watch the words fly across the screen. I buried my face in a yellow cushion on the sofa and listened.

"It was horrible," Bella's voice said. "He wanted me to kiss him, so I did and Max just went off on me." That was so a lie! He did NOT want her to kiss him, he was trying to get away!

"She knew Nick wanted me to kiss him," Bella continued. "She was just jealous he wanted me. I had no idea Max was half bird, and Nick didn't either. My sister saw Max attacking me and wanted to help. She was trying to talk to her when she exploaded."

"What do you mean 'exploaded?'" Cindy asked.

"She just went off. She cursed us and said she would get revenge. Then she snapped out her...._wings._ It shocked all of us, and she threatened the nice clerk that offered to call the police. She tried to kill me, too! She hit me with her wing hard, hoping to hurt me."

Lies, all lies. Yeah, I did hit Bella with my wing, she she hasn't seen how hard I can hit something with my wing. I didn't do anything but land a nasty bruise on her head. If I wanted to kill her, I could. I didn't cuss at her, and I wasn't jealous! Okay, maybe a little, but Fang didn't want her to kiss him.

I picked up my head and looked at the screen as Cindy came into view again. "Sad story, so tragic. A bird girl who has a temper. I'm just so happy Isabella is all right, and I'm sure everyone will agree. Stay tuned for Margrite Davidson with the earthquak in Chile." It cut to commercial. I grabbed a pillow and covered my face, muffling my scream.

Two minutes later Cindy Wynn opened the door. "Ah, Max."

My face was red from anger. "How could you? I trust you and you put me on the air? And you tell lies about what happened at the mall? That Isabella is lying through her teeth and you're buying it! I trust you and tell you how I really feel and this is how you repay me? Embarress be in front of--" I covered my mouth before I said Nick or Fang. If I did, who knows what would spill out of my mouth and be put of TV. I didn't care if what I say about Bella ends up on TV. I really don't.

"What do you mean? All lies?"

"Yes! Everything Bella--Isabella said to you on the phone are lies! F--Nick--" Did I seriously just say Fnick again? "--didn't want her to kiss him! He was trying to escape! And I never cussed at her, I don't cuss! And okay, maybe I did hit her with my wing, but I wasn't trying to hurt her. If I wanted to, I could have killed her in a heartbeat."

Cindy's eyebrows raised. She pulled out a pad and pencil and started to scribble down. "Perfect! This will be wonderful for the next broadcast and--"

I jerked the notebook from her. "Focus your next broadcast on this!" I grabbed a little table and threw it at her. She ducked and it broke on the ground right behind her. I stormed out, ignoring the quesitoning guard. I disappeard in the woods and flew to the house, landing in the woods around it. I ran up the porch steps and into the house.

Or I had planned to run into house. It wouldn't budge when I tried to open it, so I banged my head on the wood. I staggered backwards and caught myself on the rail. My head was already full of knots from the day before. I fished in the potted plant, where Mom always keeps a spair key. I unlocked the door and walked in. The house was empty, or so I thought.

I went in the living room and collaped on the couch, turning on the TV. What was on? Why, the Arizona News, of course! Wow, my life sucks! Cindy Wynn was back on.

"Dr. M? Sam? Is that you?" a voice called from down the hall. I looked up in alarm. Fang appeared in the doorway, looking like he just woke up from a nap. At least he was smart enough to lock the door! "Oh, hey, Max."

"Where's everyone else?"

"Sam took Is, Bella, Nudge, and Angel shopping. Dr. M took Gazzy and Iggy to the movie. I saw Cindy's broadcast."

I gritted my teeth. "Of course you did. Lies, all lies! Everything that was said, lies! Except me hitting Bella with my wing. But I wasn't trying to kill her! If I wanted to, I could in a heartbeat, you know that? Humans are so......fragile......it's actually sad."

Fang chuckled. "Tell me about it. Angel broke Is's nose today after breakfast when you left. You should have heard Is and Bella sqeal. It was hilarous."

I couldn't help but smile. But I was also a little disapponted. Why couldn't it have been Bella? I looked back at the TV and gasped. "This never happened!! How can she get pictures of something that never happened?" Fang ran over and we watched pictures scroll across the screen. Me and Fang kissing outside a resturant, his arms wrapped pertectivly around my waist. Me and Bella standing on opposite ends of a fashion runway, looking at each other with hatred in our eyes. Then Fang and Bella kissing, her hands tangled in his hair, her pressed against him hard, kissing passionatly.

"Max, that never happened! You have to believe me!" Fang begged.

"I know. None of this did. She's just a scrawny, lying human." Cindy appeared again on the TV.

"Now, earlier this morning, Max gave me a phone call between her and the mysterious Fnick after the first time Max's love was broadcasted." I blushed bright red as I felt Fang's eyes on me. Wait--did she just call him Fnick?

Again, the words scrolled across the screen as 'we' said them. I flipped of the TV. "I can't watch any more of this."

Fang laid a hand on my shoulder. "Forget Cindy."

"Just like we 'forgot' the first broadcast. Look how well that turned out!"

"Max--"

"Just forget it, for real, this time." I ripped away from him and walked down the hall towards my room, thakful he wasn't following me as a tear rolled down my cheek. That's when I remembered I still have Cindy's notebook. I put it under my pillow and pulled out this journal. So that's where I am now, laying on my bed, hoping that Fang doesn't knock on the door, waiting for everyone else to get back.

--Maximum


	5. March 13, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**March 13, 2010**

You will never believe what's in Cindy's notebook. How does she know this stuff? I ran into Fang's room and burst in the door, forgetting the embarrassing pictures for a moment. Fang was laying on his bed, listening to his black Ipod, probably My Chemical Romance. He ripped the ear-buds out of his ears and looked up.

"Look at this!" I yelled, running over to him. I threw the notebook at him, full-force.

I heard the air come out of his lungs with a _whoosh!_ as it smacked him in the stomach. "What is it?"

"Cindy Wynn's notebook."

He shot me a look as he picked it up and flipped up the cover. He frowned as he flipped through the pages. "No way, how did she get this?" He shook his head. "Exact words and _everything!" _He shook his head.

Okay, I don't know how she knows this, but in that one little notebook was every conversation I'd had with anyone, especially Fang, since the first Macy's attack. How did she KNOW this stuff? She had to have a spy. But who would be so sleazy and disgusting and hate me so much to do this? Then it hit me, like a lightning bolt. Bella. I remembered the call she gave Cindy. All lies, all to make me look bad.

I told Fang my suspicions.

He shook his head again. "No. No one was here during this talk. Just you and me. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have a spy.

No matter how much I hated to admit it, Fang was right. That means....she had to have a recording device. A microphone or camera. Probably one in every room. I focused above Fang's head. A little black dot...

I moved Fang's leg and stepped on his bed. I felt the little black thing, defiantly a camera. Pinching it, I pulled, and it came loose with a loud _pop!_ that made me cringe. I pulled again and it ripped out, leaving a tiny hole in his wall. "Oops. Found a camera."

Fang held out his hand and I gave him the camera. I scanned the top of the wall, no other cameras. "We have to get rid of it," Fang said, turning the camera in his palms. "Crush it."

Sighing, I slammed my fist into his palm, crushing the camera. It shocked both of us, and I jerked my hand away. "Ouch! Maybe we should crush the other ones with some hammer somewhere..."

"What was your first clue?" he asked sarcastically, the cracked camera on his carpet.

I glared at him but left the room. You'll be amazed at all the cameras we found. A whole empty ice cream bucket full. Why so many, I don't know. We walked out to Mom's old gardening shed and prepared to crush them. Fang gripped a hammer in his hands.

"Wait!" I yelled.

He stopped about a centimeter away from the camera. "What?"

I took the camera from him. "If Cindy had these cameras getting everything, then why would she need that scrawny notebook? I mean, wouldn't she rather show a video of what happens other then read it?"

"Maybe these are for someone else, and Cindy's just copying them," Fang suggested, exchanging glances with me. But who would the cameras be for? There are countless people who would love the latest dirt on the Flock. Plenty of suspects. We silently agreed, wait and talk about this later. And neither one of us decided to fight about it.

We crushed the rest of the cameras and walked back silently to the house.

Okay, maybe I should go talk to Fang instead of writing in this journal. I'll try to write sooner.

--Maximum


	6. March 18, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**March 18, 2010**

As I walked into Fang's room, I felt my chest tighten. I knocked on his door and didn't wait for an answer. He was laying on his bed, typing on his blog. He looked up and closed his laptop. I leaned against the door.

"You know what I want," I said.

Fang bit the inside of his lip and moved the computer aside, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He sighed. "The cameras?"

"Right on."

Closing his eyes, Fang stood up an walked over to me. "Look, Max. Close the door." I stepped out of the way and closed the door behind me. "Whoever it is, or whatever they want, we don't have to worry about it anymore. The cameras are gone."

"What about the spy or whoever? Cindy wouldn't have wrote all that in her notebook if she had the cameras. They had to be someone else's. And someone had to place them. Probably Bella, or Is. Or someone out to get us. Or get me. Or-I've lost my point, Fang!" I threw my head back and hit his door hard.

"Don't dent the door."

"No time for alleterations." I took a deep breath. "I just can't figure out what they want!"

"I know." He walked over to the mini fridge in the corner and took out two waters, tossing one to me. He cracked it open and took a big swish. "A story." He tightened the top on it. "Publicity. The readers are getting bored with the usual Flock drama. Something more."

I was cracking the top but froze just before it came off. "What do you mean?"

Fang sighed. "This is getting boring. All the usual. Cindy hasn't gotten any new stuff. Think about it. How did this whole thing start?"

"The Macy's attack."

"What caused the Macy's attack?"

I bit my lip and looked away. "Bella kissed you."

"And what did Cindy make you say?"

I took a deep breath. "That I loved you."

"And what-"

"Fang! Can we PLEASE change topic! I get it. I love you, and you won't admit it! I've been wondering around hoping that maybe our relationship may flourish and now, you're acting all mysterious like none of this ever happened!" I froze. I did it again, didn't I? It's like Cindy all over again.

"Right on."

"That's mine. Get your own."

Fang chuckled.

My hands curled into fists. "There you go again!" I yelled. "Acting like nothing's happening! Face reality, Fang! All those, fantasies you dream don't happen! This...you have to face it! It all have to sometime." I covered my mouth. It's like Cindy all over again!

Fang's eyes looked away. "I know, Max. But reality, it IS a dream."

I frowned.

He sighed and walked over to me. "Look, Max, I could protect you from Erasers, and Flyboys, even the M-Geeks. But I can't protect you from the reporters. If we get together, things will only get crazier. Cindy will be on our tail 24/7. Max, we can never be together."

One eyebrow raised.

"Max, I love you too. But it's too hectic right now." He leaned down and kissed me gently. After about five seconds he pulled away and walked out of his room. He was driving me insane! I growled under my breath and closed my eyes. I wasn't in love with him, I was head over heals crazy in love with him! He doesn't realize it, but I can't live without him.

Look at me. I said I wasn't going to write any gushy feelings in here. Well, I wrote that in pen, and I don't know where the white-out is. So it's gonna have to stay, and it's true. UGH! Max, put the pen DOWN!

So I ran in my room and on my bed. That's where I am now. So yeah, maybe things will go better.

-Maximum


	7. March 25, 2010

**YEY!!! 8 REVIEWS!!!! Quick author's note! I finished reading FANG and realized that lots of stuff from this story is also in FANG. Hidden cameras, Cindy is a lot like Dr. H-G, and Fang is a jerk. I'm sorry, ppls!! It was an accident! I hadn't read FANG when I had started writing this! Oh, and if you haven't read FANG, you're gonna be lost of who Dr. H-G is, since he'll be mentioned in this chapter. Let's just say, he's an evil meanie! Okay, enough talking like my friend. **

**WARNING: FANG SPOILER!!!!!! DO NOT READ CHAPTER UNLESS YOU WANT SPOILS!!!! And the spoilers will be gone in the next chapter. And I'll repeat everything important for those of you who want to wait and see what happens by yourself.**

* * *

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**March 25, 2010**

Okay, maybe I overreacted the other day. But it's about time something good happened to me, right? I agree! Cindy, Fang dumping me like garbage, all this stupid reporters, something good should happen! Sadly, it didn't happen today.

"Max, we're outta milk again," Iggy said, one hand rummaging around in the refrigerater. I sighed, leaning back in my chair. Fang was sitting across from me, and we were cleaverly avoiding each other's eyes. I'm going to have to talk to him sooner or later. I choose later.

I grabbed some money from the counter. "I'll go," I said.

"I have to grab something at the dollar store," Fang said, standing up. "I'll go with you." I pressed my tongue to the back of my teeth to stop from screaming. _Suck it up!_ I told myself. I grabbed my windbreaker and put on, jumping down the steps. Fang was right behind me. He waited until we couldn't see the house before speaking. "Max."

"What?" I said, more ice in my voice then I was hoping for.

"Stop." I felt a strong hand on my shoulder, forcing me to stop. I looked up at him. How had he gotten SO much taller then me? I immidantly looked ahead of me.

And didn't say a word, didn't even breathe.

"Max, you said it yourself, 'You HAVE to face reality, we all do.'" If using people's words against them was an Olympic sport, Fang would take the gold. Hey, shopping is a sport in Paris, it very well could be in some wacky country. But Fang was right, I said it myself, after all. Hey! You sitting there laughing! Stop it! We ALL have problems facing reality sometimes! What, do you live under a freaking ROCK?

I turned back around to face him, but I froze and paled, my eyes widened. Not here, not now!

"What?"

Slowly I lifted a trembling finger and pointed across the road. Fang spun around and his face darkened. Standing across the not-so-busy road was Dr. H-G, talking to Wonder Boy Dylan. **(A/N I know that this is after FANG and something would have been swapped, but I know there are some people, like all of my friends, who haven't finished reading FANG and I don't want to spoil their ending for them.)**

Dr. H-G pushed Dylan in the bushes when he saw us and walked up. His pretty eyes were cold, with a little fear. Huh, you'd think after he tried to kill the human race he wouldn't have had fear anymore. Or maybe because I haven't given up a grudge, neither has Fang. He will NEVER forget what the whack-job did to him.

"Fancy meeting you here," Fang said sarcastically, ice in his voice. His hands curled into fists, ready for a round 2 if necessary.

I, on the other hand, wasn't going to stand around. I didn't think as I swung my fist, connecting with Dr. Scary's jaw. His head whipped back, and he had my hand print on his face. I thought, hoped I wouldn't see him again after the bird-kid vs. evil people's fight at his house. "What are you doing here!?'

Dr. Scary popped his jaw back into place. "What are YOU doing here?"

Fang was going to answer him, but I covered his mouth. I wasn't stupid enough to tell him where I was staying.

"Oh, I remember now, you're staying with your mommy, aren't you, Max? I guess a fifteen-year-old winged kid destined to save the world even has to come crying to her mommy every once in a while." He smirked.

I was too shocked to throw another punch. How did he know that? I opened my mouth for a smart comment, but nothing came out.

"Let me explain," the doctor insisted. "After I was nearly killed by that bozo, forgetting what was intirly important, LIFE, I came looking for you. That's when I remembered where your mother lived, Max. I knew that was the place you'd run to for shelter. Then I descovered that those twins Isabelle and Isabella, Is and Bella, as you call them, and their mother Sam were coming to visit you. It helped all the more that Bella had a little crush on our favorite fifteen-year-old bird kid. And after you attacked her in Macy's, it all played out perfectly. You and Fang went running off without them, and I was there to pick up the pieces. Bella was more then happy for revenge. I had developed a new camera, so tiny you can hardly see it, and she was very pleased to place them in every room of the house. Iggy needed milk, so you ran out of the house, facing all those naggy reporters trying to get the new bird-kid dirt. Then you answered that Arazona News reporter, Cindy, and she found out about my plan. She thought it was just what she needed to please her watchers. So we made a pact, she would record everything in her stupid little notebook, and in return this whole thing was kept quiet. Until now. Then you, Max, had to run off to the news station with that sob story to help you get in, and Cindy was stupid enough to pop up with that notebook. You stole it and descovered what was inside, and knew that there was something helping her. You two found my cameras and destroyed them. Such a shame, I could have missed the most juicy things of all! But I'm sure that that robot Bella will me perfectly happy to place some more."

So Bella WAS the spy. And for all we knew, Is and Sam could be inside it, too. After all, the Terrible Three have stuck together so far, right? Right. Wait till Mom heard this! She would kick them out before they could even blink an eye! It was all too good!

The Wonder Boy stood up and brushed the leaves from his pants. He sent Dr. Scary a death glare before stalking over to us. He shot Fang a loot. He thought Fang was long-gone. Fang's hands curled into fists. I remembered Fang telling me about the lies, which seemed true at the time. Lies that almost killed him, literally.

"Max," Fang whispered. "Go on."

"What?"

"GO!"

Something in his voice made me go on. But not to the store, I ran back to the house. Even though it wasn't very far away, I was out of breath when I burst through the door. Everyone was sitting around the table still, eating dry cereal. They all looked up at me.

Sam stood up so fast her chair fell backwards. "What is it Max?"

Angel's eyes widened. It went across the table, everyone asking what was wrong, until it got to Iggy. "Where's the milk?"

You're sister pops into the doorway out of breath with her eyes wide and all you can ask is where the freaking MILK is? Nudge punched his shoulder but he repeated his question.

To bad for your stupid milk, Ig. I think I have bigger problems then milk. I sat the money on the table and shook my head. "N-nothing. Don't worry bout it." I ran, more like quickly walked, to my room. So Dr. H-G had returned for revenge. He was the one trying to get the dirt on us. I was right--Bella was a spy. And Cindy just wanted something.

So now I'm laying on my bed, writing all this junk down. And by the way Ella, Mom got your call by now. You're coming for a visit, THANK YOU!! I need someone to talk to who isn't in my flock or a possible tradior. So you'll get to read my POV of your visit, good for you. :( So the next time I write, it'll probably be about your visit.

-Maximum


	8. March 30, 2010

**Another quick author's note. There has been a lot of confusion on the whole after FANG thing because I don't want to give off spoilers. I just say forget the after FANG. But Dr. G-H and Dylan are still there, okay? They.....time traveled. And in this chap Ella comes to visit. Since this is addressed TO Ella, Max would say 'you.' That would be too confusing. So while Max would say 'you' I'm gonna say 'Ella,' kay? And I promise, all the confusing stuff will be gone in a few chapters. I know guys that may be reading this are going to hate this chapter, I'm sorry! I hate all the makeup stuff too. It was dreaded writing, but I had to have it for future chapters, sorry! It'll be gone in the next chapter!**

* * *

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**March 30, 2010**

Okay Els, here's what I thought about the first day of your visit. After I told you everything (a.k.a. hidden camera, Dr. G-H, the whole Africa visit, Dylan, the fact that Dr. G-H was the one putting the hidden camera with the help of Bella, ect.), Fang, of course, walks in.

Wow, you would think Dylan would put up a fight. All 'injuries' Fang had was a cut under his left eye. I looked up. "What happened?"

Fang shook his head. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

I gave Ella a sideways glance. She shrugged. I watched as he walked out of the kitchen to his room, pulling a stray leaf out of his hair. Ella grinned evilly.

"What?"

"I know that look, Max. You like Fang!"

"Duh. Where have you been the past year? And I thought you read my journal already."

"Not yet. But I will before I leave. Now, let's make Fang like you too!"

I stopped myself from punching her. Suck up. I just don't want to punch my sister. "What do you mean?"

Ella grinned. "I mean that Fang likes you. And don't you want him to fall head over heels for you? I'm going to make you look absolutely hot-tastic! Come on!" She jumped out of her chair and grasped my wrist, pulling me out of my chair.

I followed reluctantly. Did she just say _hot-tastic?_Yeah, Els, a Eraser-fighting, nomad girl tends not to worry about being 'hot-tastic'. And I don't fuss over makeup and cell phones like some girls. Why? Oh, yeah, because I have a _life._

A bathroom. With makeup. Mascara, eye shadow, lipstick, other girly stuff that makes me want to gag. All fit in one fluffy pink bag. I just frowned at it, searching for the first second I could escape out of her grasp. Yes, Ella. What you were doing was absolute horror.

"Foundation. A girl's best friend." Maybe your best friend, but not mine. I thought that a foundation was on a house. "Now for that rat's nest of hair!" Thanks, El. Really appreciated. "Panteen. It's awesome **(A/N Panteen really works. I use it and it's worked better then anything I have used! It's wonderful! You'll get addicted!)**! She plopped me down on the toliet and hung my head in the sink. She washed my hair with that thick gunk and dug into my scalp with those claws! El, you REALLY need to cut your fingernails!

But after the Panteen conditioner, my hair was so smooth! I couldn't help but keep running my fingers through it after it was dried. It was awesome! It refused to get tangled! Els, that's probably the only good thing about this.

After my hair was dried, she turned me around. She flipped through J-14 magazines for the best makeup colors for my hair and eyes. She kept mentioning all these names I didn't recognize, and held up all these containers to my face, muttering all these things I didn't understand! **(Another A/N I don't wear makeup. A 7th grade girl that doesn't wear makeup. I'm preparing for the hanging! I tried it once and it turned my face orange, so yeah...)**

After about an hour, she finally let me relax my cramped shoulders. "Okay Max! Get ready, you look amazing!" I turned around and gasped. My lashes have never looked longer, and my face let off a warm glow. My lips were a soft pink, and a little color to my eyelids.

But looking in the mirror, I didn't reconize myself! And my face was _heavy!_ I wanted to wash it all off that very second! It looked so cute, but I can't stand the feeling of it on. How do girls stand this? It's awful!

"It's...great," I lied, not wanting to hurt Ella's feelings. Yeah, now you know the truth, Ella. Never put me though that again, I beg of you!

"You really like it?"

"Uh, yeah. It's...pretty." I wanted to gag. Or, as that man on the sidewalk says, gag me with a spoon! **(Thanks to my reading teacher! She says that all the time. I say 'gag me with a spork.')**

Ella finally released me, and I ran back to my room. It took all my power not to rub it off. Els, you're a wiz with a makeup brush, but it's just not me! It's just...ugh.

So that's where I am now. You haven't read this yet, Els, according to what you told me, so you'll know this before you leave. Never again.

--Maximum


	9. Author's Note

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**Author's Note. PLEASE READ!!**

**Sorry guys! I hate chapter author's notes too. I'll only do them when I have too. Fanfiction isn't really working with me that well. It refuses to save. I don't even know if it will save this. If you're reading this now, it did. This month is going to be pretty buisy for me. TCAP (Tennessee Comprehension Assisment Program), our terinova test, is next week. So we have a lot of practices right now, preperations for it. Again, I'm sorry! I hate to do this. So TCAP and this quarter's reading is going to keep me pretty buisy. Then we have a Career field trip, and lots of career stuff to help us later in life when we get out of school. I hate it too. I'm going to be working on all my stories as much as I can, as long as I get all this junk taken care of. It gives me such a headache!**

**So it may be a while before I can update again. I'm trying my best, but like I said. I've got a lot going on until school ends. Sometime in mid May for us. Please review this author's note and tell me what you think. I'll update as soon as I can. I'm so sorry! I'm trying my best! Just a little heads-up!**


	10. April 17, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**April 17, 2010**

I'm getting use to the gunk on my face. I'm getting use to the extra weight, and it was feeling like I didn't even have it on. Scary, right? I had been in my room for, I don't know, three hours maybe? It felt like three. I slowly got up from my bed at Ella's call and grabbed the door nob. I hesitated. I wasn't three years from a bathroom, with a sink. Water. Drain. I could wash it off right now. If I did, Ella would have made me get it again, even if she'd already read my journal.

Slowly I turned the door nob, shielding my face from anyone. I strolled in the living room. Angel and Nudge were playing dog-and-owner, I think they missed Total a little too much. Iggy and Gazzy were having thumb wars, Iggy was totally creaming him. How is that possible? Ella was sitting across from the TV, a huge grin on her face. Fang was slung on the recliner, trying to drown out Is and Bella's chatting, staring at the blank TV because Nudge was using it as a leash for Angel.

"Max!" Ella said, which made everyone look up. I shielded my face, but it hardly did anything. At least they didn't see me. "Come on!" She tried to pull my hand away.

"No!" I snapped. I could break her arm with one whip of my hand if I wanted to! Humans are so fragile!

Ella huffed, grabbing my wrists and pulling me in the kitchen. "Why won't you show them? I spent so hard on it!"

"No!"

"Please? For me?"

"NO!"

She shook her head, making that clicking sound with her tongue and walking around me. "I hate to do this, Max, but you leave me no choice." Before I even realized what was happening, she pulled my hands behind my back and handcuffed them. With STEEL handcuffs! How many families do you know that have steel handcuffs sitting around? I thought not!

Ella grabbed my forearm and pulled me into the living room. I struggled and fought, but all I did was rub my wrists raw. Ella would be an awesome police officer.

"Hey everyone, look at Max!" she yelled. Which, of course, got everyone to look at me.

Nudge and Angel cheered. They would never get me to wear makeup. Iggy begged to know what happened and Gazzy started whispering in his ear. Is and Bella huffed and crossed their arms, seeing Fang's reaction. His mouth hung open, his eyes big, but still unreadable. I laughed, and he went back to his expressionless self.

Bella huffed again and stood up. "How could you? Do you KNOW what that suff is MADE OF?"

Wow. Since when is Bella such an environmentalist? And she wears it!

"Animals! You're killing cute, innocent bunnies and squirrels!"

How did this chick think we survived these years? The magical food fairy?

She stomped her foot and turned around sharp. "Fangy." FANGY??? "Do you believe her? She's a murderer!"

Fang laughed. "Rabbit. Yum."

Bella screamed. "Murderers! All of you! You're all MURDERERS!! HOW can you live with yourselves?? You cold hearted people!" Her face was red, and she avoided eye contact with any of us. "Come on, Is. Let's tell Cindy about THIS!" Is stood up and stood beside her sister, holding her nose high. Together they walked out of the room and I heard the door slam.

Oo, they were going to tell Cindy! Wait--they were going to tell CINDY. If Bella really was Dr. G-H's little helper, she easily could have placed more cameras. We could be being watched right now. All of us. And Bella calls US cold hearted!

**_Max,_** the Voice said. It startled me. The last time I heard the Voice was...I can't even remember!**_This is illegal. You can fight it. You can bring them to court and win._**

_Yeah, but we happen to be missing something important: proof, _I shot back.

_**Cameras. Is and Bella are gone. Get the others out. Get the cameras. They're tinier, in the cracks of the walls.**_

I smiled. Perfect. That'll teach them to mess with Maximum Ride! "Ella, why don't you take the girls to the mall? And the boys to the Civil War Museum?"

They all cheered, except for Ella. She gave me the evil eye as she walked out, Angel and Nudge closely behind. After they were all out, I looked at Fang and told him what the Voice had said.

"Cameras. Do you really think we can find them?"

"Yeah. They're in the cracks of the walls. Let's start searching." Fang shrugged and walked to the other end of the room while I ran my hand up the wall, searching for any bump. There was a black....dot...at the top of the ceiling. Very top. Glancing around, I pushed the sofa against the wall and stood on the arm to feel it. Definitely a camera.

"Found anything?" Fang asked behind me.

My fingers were too big to grab it with my nails. "Go get a needle from Mom's sewing kit." Fang nodded and ran out.

I punched the wall in frustration, making the pictures wobble and my knuckles bleed. I hated having to rely on someone, but at least it was Fang. I hated that this whole thing had started. The Terrible Three, Macy's, me blurting out to that reporter who pretended to be my friend! I should have known not to trust her. I should have known that after Jeb reappeared.

"Here," Fang said. I reached down to take the needle. I felt a sharp pain in my palm and jerked up, looking at my hand. A bead of blood appeared where the needle stabbed me.

I growled and took the needle. "You hold the pointy end. Give them the big end. Don't you know SharpObjects101?"

"Sorry. I was out for that lesson."

I shot him a look and picked out the camera. It fell in my hand. I could hardly see it. I jumped down, pushing the couch back in place, and ran to the kitchen. I zipped it in a Ziploc bag.

"I called the police," Fang said, tapping the counter. "We have a court meeting on Thursday."

Glancing at the calender, I saw that that was only two days away. Not very long to plan!

--Maximum


	11. April 21, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**April 21, 2010**

Let's just say, I'm never putting that junk on my face again. Ella was gone, back to her friend. When Bella and Is came back, they were steaming. Fang was in his room, probably listening to his new girlfriend Selena Gomez. "You!" Bella hissed when she saw me in the living room. She huffed and stomped over to me.

I frowned. "Me!"

She slapped my face. Bad idea. I scowled as I looked at her. I stood up do fast the recliner tumbled over punched her, her nose cracking. Bella touched it with three fingers and screeched when she saw they were bloody. I didn't even hit her that hard! It would have just made an Eraser stumble! I keep forgetting that humans are much more fragile!

"Don't hit my sister!" Is screeched, lunging at me. I punched her in the gut with all my strength, making her fly across the room and slam into a table.

"CAT FIGHT!!" Fang yelled from the doorway, coming in to see what the noise was.

"NEVER....SLAP....MAXIMUM....RIDE!!" I screamed at Bella between punches.

We all froze when we saw the key lock in the door turn. My eyes widened, Mom was back! Bella's face was bloody, Is was gasping for air, and the table was split in half. I swallowed. Fang ran I threw the broken table pieces out the window, shattering it.

"Get off me!" I yelled, slamming myself in the wall. Fang ran back in with a black sock on his head and slid in front of me. I put on my best panting face as the door threw open.

Mom screamed. "What happened here?"

"Thief!" I said. "Break in! I took down this one, but his friend stole the table and threw....a vase out the window!"

"You better be careful now!" Sam told Mom, nudging her. "Sometimes they come back!" Then she caught sight of Is and Bella.

Mom ignored her. "Where are the others? Are they okay? Are _you_okay? How did they get in? Did they still everything else? Where's Ella?" Mom was hyperventilating.

"Calm down!" I told her. "The girls are at the mall and the boys are at the Civil Museum. And Ella's gone, remember? But....he got Is and Bella."

"LIAR!" Bella yelled, pointing at me. "SHE'S A LIAR! She attacked me, and punched Is into the table, and threw the table out the window! And that....._thing_ on the floor is Fang!" Fang was about to say something about that before I kicked him hard in the side. "Fang put a black sock on his head and laid down!"

Mom paled but burst out laughing. "No fourteen year old girl could be strong enough to break a table, much less throw it out the window!"

"It's the truth, Ms. Martinez!" She turned to her mother, who was coming at her with a warm rag. "You believe me, don't you, Mom?"

"She's telling the truth!" Is said, regaining her breath. "That's Fang on the floor! And Max is just....mad!"

Sam sighed, wiping blood of Bella. "I wish I could believe you, dears, but you're story is way to unrealistic."

"It's the truth!" they both yelled.

"Well," Mom said, crossing her arms. "Let's see about that!" She walked over to Fang and bent down. My breath caught in my throat. She grabbed the end of the sock and jerked it off. My breath came out in a sigh of relief. Fang was smart enough to put on Gazzy's Halloween mask of an unconscious man.

Bella screeched. "But how--and you--and he--WHAT?"

Is stepped up and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "It's okay Bella. We know the truth." She squinted her eyes at me.

"Yeah, we know the truth! And we're TELLING you the truth! Fang has on a mask!"

"Give it up, Bella!" Sam said. "Now go to the bathroom and get cleaned up."

But--"

"Go!"

"UGH!" Bella stomped off towards the bathroom, Is following close behind.

"I'm sorry, Max," Sam said. "I know you wouldn't lie to us. Isabelle and Isabella will do anything to prove themselves right." She didn't wait for my answer, but glanced at Mom. "I'm sorry. It's about time for us to leave anyway. We'll be out tomorrow morning. Thank you very much." Sam walked off to help Bella and Is.

Once Sam closed the door, I kicked Fang again to tell him not to get up. Mom crossed her arms and looked at me. "Maximum Ride, what happened here? And I want the truth." I almost flinched. Almost. You know Mom's mad when she calls me Maximum.

"I told you the truth!" I insisted.

Mom bent down and pulled on Gazzy's Halloween mask. It came off easily.

I fake gasped. "Fang??? What are you doing??? I thought you were at the Civil museum!"

"I think I know exactly what he's doing! You lied to me, Max! Didn't you??"

Once Mom figures you out, fighting is worthless. I sighed. "Yes, Mom."

Fang sighed and sat up.

"Both of you are grounded for one month."

"A month?" I gasped. "Mom, she slapped me first!"

"I'm not mad about the fight, Maximum. I'm mad that you lied to me. That is why you're grounded for a month."

--Maximum


	12. April 24, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**April 24, 2010**

My wings seriously needed a stretch. It's only been a couple of days, and I'm already cramping. I've never gone this long without flying. I'll occasionally extend them if it's severally needed, but it's not the same. As for Is and Bella, well, Sam's car broke down when she was getting breakfast, and Mom insisted that they stay with us while they wait for the mechanic.

But at least I fave wonderful blackmail on Bella if she tries to mess with us. She has a honkin big pink cast around her nose. Since her nose is practically all her face, or that's how I see her, it looks even funnier. Just imagine a crab with a cast. That's Bella.

I was sitting in the kitchen, toying with Angel's toy tiara she left sitting on the table, more bored then ever. It was eight o'clock in the morning, and this was all I had to do. Curse my inability to sleep in. Done me a lot of good, hasn't it?

_**Max,**_ the Voice said.

_Wow, _I grumbled. _Look who finally decided to show up. Where were you when I was getting busted for lying to Mom?_

_**You handled it pretty well, I thought.**_

_Yes. Being stuck in the kitchen is exactly how I would have chosen to spend my Thursday._

_**What happens at four today? **_

I nearly jumped to the ceiling. _Court! I totally forgot! All I have is a camera! How am I supposed to get ready now?_

The Voice didn't answer. Why is it it only talks to get me into trouble? And when I'm getting myself in trouble, it decides to be a jerk? No matter, I had to talk to Fang. But there was one problem. Fang was gone with Gazzy to a was reenactment. Which, if you think about, is punishment for him. And Mom won't let me use the phone.

I sighed. I was on my own.

* * *

I played with my hands, avoiding the Terrible Three's eyes. Mom was driving all four of us to court. Yes, four of us. Fang was still gone. I had no help. I was pretty much tuned out all the ride, and entrance, up to where that police guy asks to ride for Honorable Judge Whats-her-name.

Ms. Judge pounded her mallet. "I call this court into session." **(A/N I never thought that field trip to a court case would come in handy. =))** As for me, I couldn't get over that long black robe about three sizes to big. It totally swallowed her. Like a black pumpkin.

My heart continued to quicken as she announced the case. Mom nudged me that she called 'Maximum Ride' and I jumped up. I don't think you're supposed to run into the court. The judge and policeman rose their eyebrows, and shocked looks from the viewers. This case was going no where for me.

"And the accused, Isabella Smith."

Is gave Bella a supportive pat on the back as Bella slowly got up and walked in the court. She still avoided my gaze.

Ms. Judge nodded. "And the accuser's lawyer?"

It took me a minute to realize she was talking to me. From the audience's laughter, I must have looked pretty stupid with my eyes big and my mouth open. How did I remember everything but a lawyer, probably the most important part??? I swallowed. "Um, I, well, I don't--I don't have a lawyer."

After a side comment about losers and lawyers, Ms. Judge looked up again. "Well then. You will have to defend yourself, I guess. And the accused's lawyer?"

"Um--"

"I'm her lawyer!" someone from the crowd yelled. Sam ran in. I tried hard to contain my laughter. "I'm Isabella's lawyer!" She saluted the judge. "Lawyer Samantha Smith reporting for the case duty!" Judging from the laughter, that wasn't how a lawyer greets a judge.

The judge chuckled. "Very well. And what does the accuser have to say?"

I stood. "Ma'am," I said, trying to sound professional, "Bella--Isabella Smith has placed cameras in our home without written permission, or any permission at all."

"And do you have proof?"

I nodded. Mom gave me a big black case over the little wall between us and the audience. Out of it I pulled the little camera and attacked one end of a tiny wire, hooking the other end up to a portable DVD player. But not just any portable player, ten times bigger. I gave it to Ms. Judge.

She started nodding as she watched the makeup scene. "But do you have proof that Isabella is part of this?"

My face fell. I was losing this bad. I like, stamped bad. "Um, I--"

"Max!"

I spun around. Fang was walking in long strides down the aisle, followed by the rest of the flock who took a seat with Mom. I couldn't keep the smile from my lips. I knew Fang wouldn't let me down. He shot me a half smile as he walked up to the judge.

"And you are?" the judge said, watching Fang with careful eyes.

"Maximum Ride's brother. F--Nick Ride."

Return of the second Fnick.

Fang held up a cell phone. "I have proof that Isabella is in fact involved in the illegalplacing of cameras." He pressed play on the voice recording on the iPhone and gave it to the judge. He walked over and sat by me at the oak table, flashing me another grin. I heard a little bit of the recording. It was our talk with Dr. H-G about the cameras, the time he explained everything.

The judge sighed as she placed the phone on the table. "Doctor. I know him well. I always knew he would pull something like this."

Isabella gasped.

"Very well, accused, you and your lawyer may defend you," Ms. Judge said.

Sam stood. "I know my daughter, ma'am. She would never do anything like that, and--"

"That's what Hitler's followers said," the judge murmured. I almost cracked up. BURN!

Sam's eye twitched. "As I was saying, what if those kids made a plot as to frame Isabella? There's always a possibility. It's a voice recording, not a video. You can find the doctor's voice on the Internet. It wouldn't be that hard to create it and save it into that phone!"

I hissed under my breath.

Ms. Judge thought about this a moment. "Dr. H-G wouldn't have voice recordings on the Internet.

"That's what Hitler's followers said," Sam murmured. The judge flashed her a look.

"Hitler didn't have Internet voice recordings," I muttered. Sam shot me a look.

"TELL THEM!" a voice yelled. Everyone turned. The door was shot open and Dr. H-G was shoved through, his hands behind his back in silvery handcuffs. Following him was an angry, red-faced Ella. Ella looked at us. "Thought you could use some help." She turned back to the doctor. "TELL THEM!" Ella put her hands on her hips, the way she did when she was determined.

Dr. H-G flashed her a look, but his mouth remained closed.

Now Ms. Judge was getting mad. "This has been the most insane court justice I have ever seen!" She smacked her palms on the podium and stood up. "And it had to happen in MY court room? I'm almost ready to call this court off, but that's against probation laws. Now, if you would be so kind, doctor, please tell us the truth: Is Isabella Smith involved in illegal cameras?"

"I will not say!" Dr. Scary boomed.

Ella's face got redder. She jammed her two fingers in Dr. H-G's shoulder pressure point, making him cringe. She continued to hurt him until he gasped.

"Okay, okay, Isabella is my spy!" he said. Ella grinned and stood straight again, leaving two red marks on his shoulder. She looked at me and winked. I thought she was gone!

Ms. Judge pounded her mallet again. "Case closed! The accused is guilty!"

The policeman asked for backup in his radio and got Bella. She and Sam flashed me an evil look before the policeman ran them out. Two more policeman ran in and arrested Dr. H-G as everyone stood up to leave, chatting about the case and taking sides.

"Yes!" I gasped, throwing myself into Fang's open arms. I froze realizing what I'd done, and scrambled up, my cheeks red.

Fang laughed. "Way to go, Max."

"I couldn't have won without you running in with that phone. Where did you get that, anyway?"

"Oh. Iggy bought it on his shopping spree whatever. I just so happened to grab it before we ran into him."

I grinned. "Lucky!"

* * *

Mom drove me, Ella, and the flock home. Is and Sam stayed with Bella for her second court meet at the Juvenal detention center.

Fang and I were being flocked with congrats from the flock. I wanted to scream at them that it wasn't that big of a deal, that we just wouldn't be spied on anymore, but that wasn't true. It was a big deal. I knew that, but there was a little voice in the back of my head that said the best was the fact I learned I can always count on Fang, even more than I thought.

When we got home, Mom sent the younger ones to bed. Ella and Iggy went outside, and Mom went to read a book in bed.

I looked at Fang. "Thanks for today. You saved me from major embarrasment."

He shrugged. "I'm the other half of this. Me and you. We're the targets. Who would I be if I didn't help?" He slowly leaned down and gently kissed my lips. Finally, something is going my way. But I know, it probably won't last. Knowing my luck, It won't.

--Maximum


	13. April 30, 2010

**A/N I got the idea of this chapter after the Saturday I posted this story. So this stuff is what happened to me when I was about 8 or 9, about 4 or 5 years ago. But they have a storm shelter when we didn't. I was actually in bed asleep when this happened. It's amazing I didn't get killed.**

**And I have a new story called Flock Facebooks. Check it out!**

* * *

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**April 30, 2010**

I sat up in my bed so fast I slammed my head against the ceiling. I cried out. Some siren was going off. A very loud siren was going off....somewhere. I jumped from my bed and ran out in the hall. "What is that?" I yelled over the siren. Heads poked out of everyone's room.

"Storm alert!" Mom yelled. She shoved us all in the living room, where the sirene was eardrum-busting loud. She hit the 'Weather Snooze' button. **(A/N That's what's on our strom alert: Weather Snooze.)** A lower beeping came before a muffled voice in a microphone I couldn't understand.

"What did it say?" I asked after everything was quiet, except for the wind and rain whipping the house.

"Tornado warning," Mom said. "Come on. The neighbors have a huge storm shelter." I glanced out the window. A family was running over to the house across the street, and a woman rushed them in a hill with a door beside their house.

Angel looked around nervously. "You want us to go out in that thing?"

"Don't be afraid of a little rain," Mom said. Suddenly there was a loud rumble from outside that made the whole house shake. Angel and Nudge screeched and clung to each other. "And a lot of thunder." In all my life, I never knew thunder could shake a house. An earthquake maybe, but not thunder.

"But I don't want to get my hair wet!" Nudge screeched.

I walked over to her. "It's either wet hair or your death!"

Nudge's eyes got big and she swallowed and nodded. "I'll get my hair wet." I hated to scare her like that, but it was the only way.

Mom looked at me. "Max, I'm going to take the others on over. Grab my phone and keys and lock the door before you come over." I nodded. Mom unlocked the front door and shoved them out. Gazzy guided Iggy, while Fang kept a grip on Nudge and Angel so they wouldn't blow away.

After one last huff, I got Mom's purse off the table and fished out the house key. I would just take her whole purse. I stepped out of the house and, with the wind blowing my hair everywhere, stuck the key in the keyhole. I tried to get it out, but it wouldn't budge. I jerked and tugged. Suddenly it came out, making me fall backwards. Mom's purse spilled and I didn't have the key.

"No!" I yelled. I made a grab for the key, but it flew off with a bunch of recites. I grabbed her checkbook with her cash and stuffed it back down in her purse.

I ran towards the neighbor's house. I could see the tornado forming at the end of the street, coiling over and over like a snake. It was only a few feet from the ground, and building fast. I banged on the storm shelter door.

A young woman, probably in her early twenties, opened the door. It was too dark to tell if her hair was brown or black, but she had bright blue eyes. "Hello! I'm Gertrude. And you must be Max! Your mother has told me so much about you!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure she has!" I shoved past her into the shelter and tossed the purse to Mom. "The key got stuck. I dropped it and it flew off with a bunch of recites."

Mom frowned. "You lost the house key?"

I avoided everyone elses gaze. "Yes. Sorry."

Mom shook her head. "Well, nothing we can do about it now." She suddenly froze. "Did ALL the recites fly away?"

"Most of them."

She immediately started searching through her purse. "No! It's not hear!"

Okay, now I know this seems crazy, but I had a strange feeling I lost something important.

"What?" I asked.

"My lawyer gave me that recite. I have to have it for my plane to Atlanta. Oh, my boss will be mad!"

Mom was about to go on a buisness trip to Atlanta for a training course or something. And Sam refused to take a step in our house after the court. They wouldn't even come in to get their luggage, all their junk was still in our house. Eh, maybe the tornado will pick it up.

"Sorry Mom!" I said again.

She sighed. "It's okay, Max. It's not your fault. I should have got that pesky lock fixed months ago."

"Um, okay then." As long as I didn't get in any more trouble, I was fine. I sat beside Fang and played with my hands.

**(A/N my stupid long line won't work. Just pretend this is a divider)**

Okay, that I just wrote was going to be the end of my entry, but before I could write -Maximum, there was a knock at my door.

"Come on," I said, quickly closing my journal and shoving it under my pillow. Fang opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind him.

"Hey," he said, sitting down beside me.

"Hey."

"That was sort of rough today." It was about six in the morning, and none of us had really cared to go to sleep after that. It was amazing we even got in our own house! But luckily Mom remembered she hid a spare key under a porch board.

"Yeah. I lost our key. And I probably got Mom fired." I looked down and ran my foot on the carpet, making it darker and lighter.

"She didn't blame you, neither does anyone else. It was the stupid lock's fault." After he saw I wasn't buying it, he sighed. "You didn't get your mom fired, Max. She called her boss and said she'd be a little late. She just has to go the whole process like most people."

I waited, but he didn't say anything. "And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"Well, yeah. The bad thing that would happen didn't."

Standing up, I sighed. "Fang, it's not loosing Mom's stupid recite that I'm upset about!" He raised his eyebrows. "You wouldn't understand." Even I almost didn't. I just wanted him to comfort me. I know, I'm weird like that.

As if he was reading my mind, he stood up and wrapped his arms around me and a tight hug. Butterflies appeared in my stomach. "When you figure it out," he said, "I'll be here." He kissed my cheek and rubbed my back.

"Hey Max, I--" Nudge froze. Fang and I immidiatly split apart. "Oh, sorry." Nudge's face was bright red.

So the next few minutes were very awkward. You don't need to know that, Ella. Nothing that concerns you.

--Maximum


	14. May 6, 2010

**Oh my, remember last entry when I said there was flash flood warnings, severe thunder storms, and tornado warning for my area? Well when I published the last chapter Friday, the next Saturday there was ANOTHER flash flood, thunderstorms, AND tornado warnings for my area. Is that freaky or what?? I'm just happy I decided not to run the Coka-cola 10k. Could you imigine running a 10k during a thunder storm??? And sorry if this sounds a little strange in the beginning, I just needed Max and Fang out of the house. You'll see later.**

* * *

**Journal NOT a Diary!!!**

**Max's Journal**

**May 6, 2010**

I woke up to a cold hand touching my face. Fang was standing on the bottom bunk to reach me. "Max," he said. "Let's go for a flight. I need to talk to you." He jumped down and walked out the door. I sat there for a moment. Fang needed to talk to me. That wasn't a good sign.

But I jumped down and got dressed. I met Fang st the doorway, he had a flashlight, and grabbed my jacket. It was still cold from the tornado a few days ago. We raced out of the house and jumped off the porch, taking to the sky. "Where too?" I asked him, the wind blowing back my rat-nest of hair.

"Follow me." He flew in front of me and smiled back.

Just a few minutes later we landed at the ledge of a cave. I recognized it, it was the cave Fang and I found the first time we visited Mom after I found out she was my real mother.

"So what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Promise me one thing: You will never, _ever_, talk to Cindy again."

"I'm not that stupid, Fang! She embarreses me on _national television_ who-knows-how-many times, and next thing I know she's spying on us? I will never talk to that witch as long as I live!" I crossed my arms. I can't believe he would think I was stupid enough to talk to that demon again.

He nodded. "Good for you. Cause next time you do, you'll be sinking yourself in even deeper lava."

"Naw duh! That's happened every time I open my mouth around her! Now what did you want to talk about? You're making me mad!"

"Sorry. But listen, Max," he took my hand and led me to the wall. We sat down. "Something weird is happening. I feel, I feel like Sam and Bella are out for revenge on us. Is as well. For busting Bella. And they have Cindy's trust still."

"You FEEL? Fang, someone called just an hour ago and said they were under lock and key with a gaurd!"

"I don't know. It's like a gut feeling, only ten times stronger. But if it hasn't happened yet..."

Huh. Fang is the only one of us who doesn't have a power. Maybe his power is seeing, or feeling the future. Okay, that's weird. "So this is the only time it's happened?"

He nodded. "But I had a dream of them sneaking out when the guards fell asleep, and coming towards our house."

"Maybe you can only see the future when you're asleep."

"Possibly. But I also saw that they made an agreement with Cindy. She has a plan to get everything she wants out of you next time she sees you. Which she said will be tonight, or this morning, actually."

"How do you know it's this morning?"

"It's the 6th, right?"

I nodded.

"Then it's this morning."

"Great." I swallowed. "Then we better get back." We both stood up and flew off the side of the ledge. So Fang can see the future in his dreams. That will either help us, or get us killed. And knowing my life, probably get us killed! But Fang acted like nothing happened. Maybe he was just trying to make me feel better, or maybe he saw that this wouldn't be a big deal.

Like I said, that could, and probably will, get us killed.

We flew silently until the house came in view and I gasped. "Fang, have you seen that car anywhere?"

Fang glanced down at the driveway. A red Mustang was parked in our driveway, and a moving van was parked on the side of the road beside our driveway. "Yes! That's the car Cindy had in my dream. A red Mustang. And a van was following her."

I flew on towards the porch, Fang close behind me. What was Cindy doing here? No one was in the car, or on the porch. That means--

"Fang, you did lock the door behind you, right?"

He nodded. "I'm sure I did."

I opened the wood plank that we kept the extra key to the front door under. Mom had the other in the house. "Gone! Fang, this was where we keep the key, right?"

"Yep!" He walked to the front door and turned the knob. "It's unlocked, Max."

I gulped. "Okay, I have an idea. How many goons did Cindy have in her dream?"

"At least two."

"Okay, I've got Ella's cell phone. I grabbed it thinking it was the house key. I'm going to call the house and let the phone ring. I'll be at the front door and you be at the back door. We'll alert each other which door they come out. And I'll go ahead and call the police while I'm at it."

Fang gave me that stern look. "Max, do you know how risky that is? They'll probably come out the front door, that's where their cars are. What if they have guns?" I saw that look in his eye. He was really concerened.

I shrugged. "Then they'll kill me first. Give you time to run. And save everyone else."

"Max, just wait for the police."

"What if they have guns?" I LOVE using people's words against them! "Then they could have already shot the others. You can't stop me from trying."

He looked at the ground. "You're right. I can't stop you. Just be careful, Max." He leaned down and kissed me. Good, if I was about to die, this would be the only farewell present I would want. Just one more kiss from Fang.

"I will," I told him. "Now get to your station."

With one more good luck kiss, he ran for the other side of the house. I took out Ella's cell phone and called the police. They were about fifteen minutes away, but with luck Cindy and her goons would have already been caught. My fingers trembled as I dialed the house phone.

Here goes nothing. I pressed the green call button and prepared to scream for Fang, just in case. I heard the phone ring in the living room and shuffling inside. Something glass broke and shattered. I heard feet pounding the floor inside and the door burst open. I screamed at the top of my lungs for Fang. Wow, I never knew I could scream that high.

But it was a long run around the house. And one of Cindy's goons held up a pistol and pointed at me. I closed my eyes and prepared for pain and a bright light. But it didn't come. Not even a gunshot. I peeled open and eye. "You're not resisting?" he asked, amazed.

"You idiot!" Cindy yelled. "You're gonna get us caught! Forget it, I'll do it myself." She grabbed the pistol from his hands and he and his pal ran for the moving van. Cindy raised the pistol at me. I raised an eyebrow, daring her to pull the trigger.

I heard running inside the house. Ella's phone, which I forgot was there, stopped ringing. "Hello?" Mom asked.

"Mom! I--" A gunshot went off. I screamed and jumped to the gound before it hit me. Thinking back, I don't know how I got down fast enough. I guess nerves make you quicker or something. I knew Fang should be there any second.

I left Ella's phone on the ground. I knew Mom heard the shot on the phone as well as outside, and sure enough, her head popped in the window. "Max!" Fang yelled and ripped the gun from Cindy from behind. Mom and the others ran out and surrounded Cindy, pinning her to the guard railing surrounding the porch.

"Wow," I murmered to Fang. "They did my job for me." I heard sirens wailing in the distance. "Here come the cops."

"Did you get a good look at the other two?"

I nodded. "And I would recognize them anywhere. One had dark brown hair and a thick scar above his right eye. The other, the one who wouldn't kill me, was bald with a tatoo of a dragon breathing fire on his left arm."

Fang nodded as the police cars came into view and raced in the driveway to take Cindy away.

As it turns out, they had just arrived and didn't have time to steal anything. Mom's favorite glass vase was broken, but she was happier that I was okay. I'm just happy Cindy didn't have this. Talk about major blackmail!

--Maximum


	15. May 13, 2010

**Finally a Saturday with floods and tornadoes destroying everything around me. We didn't have school all week last week because a tornado crushed a town in our county. And all my favorite stores where my mom works are closed because of flooding! A shoe store and had a flood even had a sale to get rid of shoes. EWW! Who would want shoes that had been though a flood? NOT ME! The woman we found it out from said her mother went to the sale the day before and got about $1,000 worth of shoes for only $150! MAJOR SALE! Like I'm going to it anyway. The place smells like a sewer and people buy black shoes that turned out they were supposed to be white. GROSS!**

* * *

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**May 13, 2010**

I still couldn't get over Fang's new power. He could SEE the future in his SLEEP! Who wouldn't want that?

After we all got over the whole Cindy-is-evil, break-in, Max-almost-dying thing, we finally got some well-needed sleep. I kept hoping Fang would have another dream, we could really use an inside look right now.

The next morning I woke up in sweat. I got dressed and walked to the kitchen. Fang stood there, sipping a glass of water. "Hey, Max," he murmured, siting down at the table and putting his head and his hands, rubbing his temples.

"Another dream?" I asked, sitting down beside him.

He nodded. "Cindy really did murder someone, Max."

I frowned. "I thought you saw the _future._"

"I do. I mean, she _will_ murder someone. I saw her at her trial. She, she killed the judge when he called her guilty. Right there in front of everybody. But as the officer was locking her in the cell, she screamed, 'Die, the one who started this all!'" He pursed his lips and ran his hand through his hair.

I wanted him to have a dream, but not something that would stress him this much. The one who started this all.....

"Huh. I guess this all started at Macy's. And the one who started it all would be....well, Bella kissed you."

"And you started the fight. Overreacted. I just hope she was talking about Bella." He shook his head and took a drink of water.

He was right. I started the fight. Ripped out my wings. I was the reason the press was all over us. And I got Bella busted, and Cindy. Even though they placed the cameras. It was my fault. I caused this whole thing. And now Cindy wanted to kill me.

I bit the side of my lip. "So what's the plan?"

He shrugged. "What can we do? You barley got away from her earlier. Who knows if you can get away when she has more determination? And I'm not here to protect you when she does attack?"

"I don't need protection, Fang. I was shot at befor eyou got there. And it was Mom and the flock who cornered Cindy."

Fang glared at me. "Fine. Not protect. Help. Happy?" Fang grumbled something I couldn't hear and took another drink of water.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. As much as I wanted to fight him right now, he was my best friend. And I didn't want to loose him. No matter how annoying he was and however many times he made me want to kill him.

"I think we should visit Bella," I suggested. "It is our fault she's in there, after all." Cause as much as I hated to admit it, we had to apologize. They deserved to be in jail, but we sort of caused it. And if it wasn't for you, Ella, we wouldn't have won. It was our fault.

Fang looked at me like I had two heads. "Are you crazy? Bella illeagally put cameras everywhere! If it wasn't for her, Cindy wouldn't have gotten near as much junk as she did." He raised his eyebrows as if that would prove his point.

"But she didn't voice near as much as she could, either. I still have her notebook, remember? And they are still friends, not to us, but to Ella and Mom. And Sam and Is many not have had anything to do with it. They're suffering, too."

"Max, Even your Mom will agree with me. Bad idea."

With my luck, something would happen. And I knew that it was a bad idea. But if you know me, I put my foot down, even if I secretly change my mind. Like I was gonna tell him that. Besides, I don't need another enemy. And that would be three.

"Fine," I said, leaning back and crossing my arms. "I'll just go there by myself."

"No! Fine, I'll go with you. Lead the way."

I twas already 8:00, but Mom and the others were still asleep. I wrote a quick not to Mom and put my jacket on. Together, Fang and I went to the jail.

"Can we see Isabella Smith?" I asked the woman at the front desk.

She laughed. "Of course not, dimwit!" I frowned. She pointed to her ear and whispered, "Sorry, blue-tooth. My husband wanted to get dandelions for my daughter's wedding. Right over there." She pointed to her right.

It still seemed strange that she called her husband dimwit over dandelions, **(A/N dandelions really look good at a wedding if you use them the right way. The one I went to was gorgeous.)** but we walked over to the windows. I saw Sam sitting on a stool with a black phone held to her ear. Bella was behind the glass with another one. I guess that's how you communicate here.

I tapped Sam's shoulder. "Could we talk to her?"

Sam frowned but gave me the phone and walked away. I sat on the stool and Fang leaned down so we would both listen. Bella sat there with her jaw clenched stubbornly, waiting to see what we had to say. "You okay?" I asked.

"I'm locked in a jail cell until the end of the year! How do you think I am?"

She had a point. "Well, Sam and Is visit you all the time, right?"

Bella squinted her eyes but nodded. "Every day. That's all that keeps me sane in this joint. Food's horrible. My stomach still refused to cooperate with it." Okay, didn't need to know that. "Now what do you two want?"

I glanced at Fang. "We just came to talk. I gave this some thought, and even though you can be a real pain in the butt" --Bella didn't like that, I didn't blame her-- "you still are my family's friend. And...I don't want to be enemies."

"Maybe you should take lying lessons. And even if you really did mean it, it's too late for that, Maximum. I'm in here because of you. You didn't want us at your house from the moment we stepped in, I get that! I didn't want to be stuck there with you either!"

I almost laughed. Fang was the only reason Bella stayed. But instead I shrugged. "Fine. You wanna be enemies? We'll be enemies. And I'll treat you like all my other enemies. Only they don't whine when I break they're nose. And it takes a lot more to break their noses then yours, fragile human!"

Bella fowned. "Fragile human? Like you arn't just as fragile as I am!"

"Actually, I'm not. I can take a cannon ball going one hundred miles an hour and not die. I'd be pretty close to it, but I wouldn't."

"What kind of freak are you? And I bet your sister's the same way! And she probably has those big wings too! And your mom!"

"No, Mom and Ella are just as fragile as you. And I'm the only one with wings."

"Wow, you ARE a freak! Normal people wouldn't even have to take a hundred MPH cannon ball! Look, if you can here to apologize, apology NOT accepted! I have normal friend I can talk too. And I don't want my mind soiled by a freaky bird like you! Fang, why do you hang out with his nut?"

Nut?

"I'm the same way. And I think you're the freak." Fang said.

"I think you've BOTH gone crackers!" **(A/N look it up on dictionary(dot)com. In the slng dictionary it says 'bonkers definition' which means 'mad', 'crazy', and 'slightly drunk'.)** "If this was all you came here for, why don't you just give the phone back to my mom and go home!"

"Okay then," I said. "Have a fun time in jail, Bella." I stood up and laid down the phone. I heard Bella yell to get her mom, but Fang and I just turned and left. Well. That went better then I thought. *eye roll*

At least nothing went wrong, other then Bella totally pushing us out of her life. Not my problem!

--Maximum


	16. May 19, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**May 19, 2010**

Now that I think about it, even though that jail visit wasn't a complete disaster, we shouldn't have treated Bella that way. Anyone who looked at us would probably think why we did that to a criminal if they didn't know what she was in for. But now Bella was even more against us, and she still had Cindy on her side. And Cindy already wanted to kill me.

Cindy. I wonder what happened to her job. What did they do, say, 'Cindy got landed and jail by a fourteen-year-old. Anyone want her job?' No, they probably made a big deal about it, like they make a big deal out of everything that doesn't matter that much. But out of curiosity, I flipped on the TV.

What I saw freaked me out so much I couldn't talk.

"FANG!" I yelled when I could. "GET IN HERE, NOW!" My voice even echoed out the house. I didn't know anything echoed here.

"Sup," Fang muttered, leaning his back against the doorway. I wonder how long he had been standing there. He strolled in and stood beside me, watching the TV.

Of all people they could interview, they choose Sam? She didn't even know about this whole thing until the police called her and said Bella had a court meeting. Sam was crying, fake, of course. I knew they were eye drops, pretending to hardly be able to talk to the woman interviewing her.

"And what did you thinkwhen Judge Frimond even went against you and your daughter in the court?" the woman said, handing Sam a Kleenex to wipe her fake tears. Sam wiped her eyes, smearing her running mascara over her cheek.

"I realized we were alone," Sam whispered, just loud enough for the camera to hear. "Probably the only person in that audience that believed us was my other daughter, Isabelle. If that one boy, the one who ran in with the evidence that the doctor was in on it, too, hadn't filled his blogs with lies, then..... Well, we would have won. But my daughters use to read it, and that's all it is, lies. Talking about having wings and destroying Hollywood signs, that stuff is just science fiction."

Fang's face was red. "Not lies!" he hissed. "You're the one who's lying!"

The woman looked like she was about to take compassion on that liar. "But I understand that Maximum Ride's mother was your friend. How did it feel when they sued your daughter for placing cameras illegally?"

Sam swallowed, pausing a moment to think of another lame heart-string-tugging story to woo the cameras. "I knew Maximum didn't like us from the beginning. She had such a bad attitude about taking my daughters to see the city. I knew she would plan something like this." Sam sighed and shook her head.

"So you say it never happened?"

"Of course not! Like I said, the boy's blog was lies. I do believe that most of them were adopted, I've known Maximum's mother since high school. It's something she would do, adopt. So there's no reason anyone would be against those kids. It was all just a little prank they came up with."

"But they won't let your daughter go without proof. What do you have to say to that?"

Sam sighed. "It's a shame. A shame that someone innocent must be locked up in a jail for no reason! Anyone could have convinced that doctor to take a vidio saying Bella was in on their prank. I just hope they'll realize how much pain and suffering they've caused."

I had enough of Sam's lies. I was about to swich off the TV when I heard something.

"About the wings," the woman said. "We do have proof that both Maximum and her friend have them."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Continue?"

"The Macy's security tape. It shows Maximum snapping out her wings. And we have record that Maximum and the same friend who's blog you said was full of lies, talking to your daughter in jail. I don't know if they realized it was taped or not, but shows them both confessing to having wings. And Maximum saying she could be hit by a hundred MPH cannon ball and live."

Sam raised both her eyebrows now and leaned back in the chair. "Yes? Well I say we try Maximum being hit with a hundred mile per hour cannon ball!"

The woman's expression hardened. "Mrs. Smith, that would be murder."

"But if she claimes she's strong enough to live, why don't we see just how strong she is?"

The woman looked at someone behind the camera and nodded. "And that's all our time! This is MaryEllen McCoy, Arizona News. Back to you, David." I could tell that MaryEllen just didn't want say something wrong or offend Sam. I wish she had offended her, serves her right!

I flipped off the TV and looked at Fang. "Sam wants to hit me with a cannon. Fun."

"Well, at least Sam was proven a liar. If everyone said 'what if' there could be no proof of anything."

"I guess your right. Just as long as I'm not hit by a cannon."

Fang chuckled. "Maybe you shouldn't have included that in that visit."

"Oh, so NOW you tell me!" I grumbled. The phone beside me started to ring. "I got it!" I yelled to Mom and the others in the house. I picked up the phone and hit the green button. "Hello?" I asked, sitting on the couch. I didn't look at caller ID. Might be a mistake.

"Maximum Ride? This is MaryEllen McCoy."

My eyebrows rose. "MaryEllen? Weren't you just on TV not five minutes ago?"

"Yes. As you must know, I'm with the Arizona News. I called to ask you and your friend to be in an interview on Monday morning."

My lip twiched. That might not be the best idea. "Where?"

"Anywhere. We could do it at the studio, or at your house if that would make you more comfortable."

I frowned. "I'll call you back later. I'll....have to talk so people. Bye, MaryEllen." I didn't wait for her to answer, but hit end. If there was one thing I learned with Cindy, it's not to trust reporters. And to watch what you say, cause you'll probably say something stupid.

"What did she want?" Fang asked.

I told him the conversation. "What is MaryEllen is another Cindy? Things would just be worse."

"That's why we don't go that far. As soon as MaryEllen reports something she shouldn't, we stop talking to her. Let her out of our lives for good."

Huh. I didn't like it, but it was the best plan we had. After I finish this entry, I'll go call MaryEllen. Tell her the interview is on.

--Maximum


	17. May 24, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**May 24, 2010**

"Do you really want to do this, Max?" Fang said, looking out the window. We were going to the Arizona News station for the interview with MaryEllen.

"Yes. Sam only told lies for her interview. We have to tell the truth."

"But you know Sam will deny it." So what if she did? We would know we said the truth, even if the public didn't. Doesn't that happen all the time? Now, after the whole Cindy thing, you'd think I'd be careful about "friendly" reporters, right?

I shrugged. "No turning back now. MaryEllen has already announced our interview." This whole thing will blow over in a few months, after Sam and her minions pelt me with cannon balls. Apparently the don't know a joke from serious.

Mom rolled the car into the Arizona News parking lot. "Good luck," she said as we stepped out of the car.

I walked up beside Fang. "Did you see anything?" I wispered as we stepped up to the door. The guard nodded and let us in. At least I didn't have to lie to him about my 'poor, dying mother' again. We walked down the hall towards MaryEllen's office, where she was ready to go on camera.

He nodded. "Everything will be fine."

"Do we trust her?"

"I don't know. She seems okay, but then again, so did Cindy before she tured into the living nightmare. Everything looks okay now, just don't dish too much." I nodded and looked down, remembering the first embarrasing thing Cindy had got me to tell the first time I met her. I just hope that doesn't happen with MaryEllen.

Her door swung open as soon as Fang was about to knock. "Fang! Max! You're here!" She hugged both of our necks. "I was afraid you wouldn't make it! You're on in five! This way." She led us to a backstage room with a sofa and a chair in front on it, turned slightly for the camera but where she was still facing us. We sat down on the fluffy, tan-colored sofa on the white circle rug. The colors shouldn't work very well, but they did. MaryEllen sat in the chair.

"Now, don't you too be afraid to cuddle!" she said in an overly peppy voice. Fang and I extanged glances. The talk we had weeks ago still haunted me, where he said we should just be friends from everything going on. She nervously clapped her hands together once. "Or not."

There was an awkward silence until the cameraman said "On in five," and held up five fingers to count down.

"Look alive!" MaryEllen said. What were we supposed to do, look_ dead?_ The cameraman yelled zero and pressed a button on the camera, zooming in on MaryEllen. "Hello, I'm MaryEllen McCoy, and I'm here with Maximum Ride and her friend Fang. Now, what do you have to say about how this whole thing began?"

My mind spun. This was the kind of thing everyone had warned me about. Fang and MaryEllen were looking at me for an answer. "Well," I began, clearing my throat. "I think this whole thing began as an accident. None of this was planned, any of it, anyone."

MaryEllen nodded. "So with the...incident...at Macy's, you showed your wings. Do you mind showing us those?"

I looked at Fang. It was bad enough with the wings the first time, not to mention this one. But they did already know I had them...I didn't even realize my wings were out while I was thinking. MaryEllen gasped. Fang pursed his lips.

"Wow," MaryEllen whispered. She cleared her throat and spoke louder. "And are you and Fang...the only ones with wings?"

Frowning, I looked at Fang. He just looked ahead. I would rather me and Fang be caked with reporters then the whole flock. So I shook my head. "No, we're the only ones with wings, MaryEllen. And it's very...unfortunate that we do. An accident, very complicated."

"I see. So what do you have to say about Sam wanting to hit you with a hundred mile an hour cannon ball? You're words were 'I can take a cannon ball going one hundred miles an hour and live." Her eyebrows raised, waiting to see how I would get out of this.

"Uh, I think she misunderstood. I didn't say can, I said...can't..." I looked away. I. Am. An. Idiot!

"Well, I have a record of the tape right here. Let's play it, shall we?" I gritted my teeth. Slowly the talk with Bella continued, and finally the moment of truth. Luckily, I had taken that moment after 'can' to take a huge breath. It sounded a little like a T. Wow. I need to be more careful about jokes I make. "...It doesn't really fit in with the conversation."

I scratched my head. Now she cornered me. "Max makes random comments all the time," Fang said. Thank you!

MaryEllen paused. "Do you think life for you two will ever be the same again?"

Fang and I exchanged glances. "I don't know," I said. "We'll always be friends through thick and thin. I think...I think everyone else has actually been affected more then we have. Isabella's in jail, her family in distressed. My mother is nervous about what will happen and the rest of my family, well, they did nothing to deserve this. So what if we're flocked by reporters every time we step outside? In the general scheme of life, it doesn't matter how popular we are."

Yep. I can be deep.

MaryEllen nodded. "You're right. But this has to have affected you two as well, correct?"

"Well," I started, glancing down, "it has, in a way. After we found out that Bella and everyone were spying on us in our own home, it's...changed us. We're more careful about what we say. But we can never be sure of privacy." Worked out way better then I thought it would!

"Yes. You're never sure who's listening. But you were talking about your family. What about you and Fang?"

I froze. "Oh. Well, with the press being all around, same as our family, no privacy. We just-"

"Keep a close eye on each other," Fang said. "Make sure the other doesn't say something to get us killed."

"Fang, what do you think about what...what Max said to Cindy? About her being-"

"In love with me?" he finished. I felt my face turn red. He chuckled. "Well, it for sure made me open my eyes."

MaryEllen grinned. "Are you saying...we have the Young Lovers in our mist?" Young Lovers? Probably some older soap opera or boring TV show or something. With my luck, it would be some 80's boyband with 80 year old members. And yes, that is an exact thought from that moment.

Fang took a deep breath. "It depends. Who are the Young Lovers?"

"It's a movie. Does it matter?"

"Not really. Just as long as it isn't some 80's boyband with 80 year old members." I frowned. Do we seriously think that much alike? "But if it's two teenagers in love, then...I guess you could say there _are_ Young Lovers in your mist."

My jaw dropped. Was it just me, or did Fang say he was in love with me?

"Gasp!" MaryEllen gasped. I almost cracked up. Then she frowned. "You two don't look in love. Show it a little!" I wiped spit from my cheek. I was father away from her. She must have nailed Fang. But she raised her eyebrows.

I was so close to saying something, but decided against it. I don't need more camera trouble. I glanced at Fang.

His eyebrows knitted together. "Is it almost commercial yet?"

She sighed and turned to the camera. "Samual Smith with news on the BP oil spill after this short break." The cameraman flipped off the camera and MaryEllen turned towards us. "Well, good job, Young Lovers."

...Don't tell me she'll be calling us that from now on. I'd have to watch that movie...see what it was about...

After we didn't say anything, MaryEllen sighed. "Very well. You can go."

We didn't say anything as Mom picked us up and drove us back home. Fang's announcement shocked me, shocked everyone. Mom didn't talk as she drove, didn't even turn on the radio. Dinner was strange. Everyone just sat there, picking at their food. Nudge and Angel tried to start conversation every once in a while, but it always died down.

Think this was strange, Ella? Well the night wasn't over yet.

I knocked on Fang's door. "You in there, Fang?" I asked, knocking my knuckles quietly on the door. I heard a grunt on the other side. Sighing, I slowly turned the knob and pushed it open. No turning back now. I leaned against the doorframe.

He popped out his earbuds. "Oh, hey Max."

"Way to lie to the camera."

"What do you mean? I didn't lie to the camera!"

"Yes, you did, Mr. Genius." I cleared my throat to do an imitation of Fang: "'Yes, we are Young Lovers. Is it time for a commercial break?'"

Fang frowned. "You know, that's actually a really good imitation."

I groaned. "Fang, you lied to the camera! You just got us in more trouble! Do know how much the cameras are going to be flocked around the flock after they find out me and you are NOT Young Lovers?" Fang chuckled at the pun. "You put everyone in more danger, Fang! And you aren't giving a hoot about it!"

"Max," Fang said, swinging his legs of the bed. He walked over to me. "I can honestly say that I did not lie to the camera. Unlike you. Oh, no, you _can't_ get hit by a cannon ball?" He chuckled again. His breath smelt like mints.

Growling under my breath, I closed his door behind me. "I don't want the others to witness your death."

He laughed. "Is that a threat?"

"Isn't it always?"

"Then what's your reason for killing me? I didn't lie to the cameras, Max. You did. And you know it. We both know you said you _could_ get hit by a cannon ball and survive. He raised his eyebrows. His nose was almost touching mine. Very uncomfortable.

"I did what I had to do not to be killed. What's your reason, Mr. Young Lover?"

"My reason is I didn't lie! Don't you get that, Max? I did not lie to the cameras. I just wanted the cameras to _think _I was. I must be a good liar and not a good..._truthteller_ or whatever. You think I lied. Exactly the opposite of what I wanted you to think?"

"So you wanted me to believe your lie?"

"It wasn't a lie!"

"Then prove it."

"Happily!" He leaned down and kissed me. Not a quick kiss, a passionate kiss. More passionate then he normally does. He caressed my cheek and wrapped his hand around my neck, pulling me close. This was on my unexpected list, the top. Slowly he pulled away and opened his eyes, still holding my neck, his nose still touching mine.

"I still don't believe you," I said.

He growled and stood straight up. "You are the hardest person to convince anything!"

"Oh, convice your lie is true? You don't think I don't remember you saying we're better off just as friends?" I was yelling, screaming at him. I crossed my arms over my chest. There was no way Fang had been telling the truth. No way. And it was just like him to lie to a camera to 'protect' me. That was my job.

"I said that, like two months ago!" he yelled. "When the reporters were nonstop! They've loosened up now. Our story is becoming old news, like everything else! And do you remember exactly what I said when I told you that, Max?"

"No."

"'Max, I love you too. But it's too hectic right now.' Exact quote."

Okay. Take a minute and flip black to March 18 entry. I'm amazed he still remembered it. And that was before we realized we were being watched.

"Whatever, Fang. Just go cry to your iPod." I opened the door and slammed it behind me, leaving Fang alone in his room with possibly a hurt nose. I hope I broke it. Serves him right. I had admitted that I loved him several times. And he knew it was the truth. But when it comes time for him to tell me of his love, he lies. Just like him. Hurtful and unreliable. That's what the brick wall is best at.

So what did I do, you ask? I showed the wimpy side of Maximum Ride. The heartbroken side. I locked my door and cried on my bed for about thirty minutes. I ignored Mom's call for dinner. And did Fang try to apoligize? Nope! No, while I was sitting in my room heartbroken, he was stuffing his face.

But Els, we both know I'll have to face up to him again. And I dread that day. But it wall come very, very soon I can assure you. Anyway, I'm tired and want to get some sleep. Wish me luck over the next few days. I'll need it.

-Maximum


	18. May 26, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**May 26, 2010**

I was ignoring Fang. He was ignoring me. It all worked out, even though meals were a little creepy... but back to the point. We were all fine until reporters once again showed up on our doorstep, right after the interview with MaryEllen.

I'm getting a serious sense of déjà vu.

And what did they want? The Young Lovers. And me and Fang...we just weren't ready for that game again. Our house pretty much turned into a dungeon. The blinds on windows and doors had to be pulled and locked. None of us dared to leave unless absolutly necessary. And I'm starting to think these wacky reporters are digging a tunnel under the house.

Iggy groaned. We were all sitting in the living room after dinner yesterday. Fang was updating his blog, and I was sitting as far away from him as possible, watching the movie RV with Angel and Nudge. Mom was reading a book with the light of the lamp. Iggy and Gazzy were laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling. "I can't take this anymore!"

Fang stopped typing and looked up. Mom slid her bookmark in her book. Nudge paused the movie. "Can't take what?" Gazzy said, sitting up by Iggy.

He glared at Gazzy and stood up. "This whole thing! We're pretty much isolated from humanity! I fell trapped with all these stupid reporters at our doorstep! This isn't even our problem! It's Max and Fang's problem! So why do all of us have to suffer from it?"

"Because Fang was being an idiot," I mumbled. Fang and Iggy both shot me a look. Well, Iggy shot the chair I was sitting in a look, but you get the point. Iggy had that gleam in his cloudy eyes he only gets while fighting what ramdom things Itex sends.

Mom's book thumped on the sidetable. "Because we're a family, Iggy!" Mom said with that voice a woman has that makes everyone freeze and listen to her. "And families stick together through thick and thin! And we're not about to abandon Max and Fang when they need us most!"

"Well I'm sick of it!" Iggy yelled at her. Everyone gasped. He yelled at Mom! No one does that unless they want to be grounded for a year! "I'm sick of taking the heat when we didn't do anything! It's not our fault Max and Fang are idiots on camera!"

Mom's face was rock hard. "So what are you going to do about it, Iggy?" she asked, amazingly calm. If Iggy talked to me like that I would punch his face in.

"I'm leaving!" He stood up and walked to the door, freezing with his hand on the doornob. "Anyone else want to come with me?"

"I'm with you!" Gazzy said. He stood up and walked beside Iggy. "Anyone else?"

No one moved.

"Fine then!" Iggy said. He unlocked the door and stomped out, shoving through reporters. Gazzy slammed the door behind him. Nudge ran up and locked the door before reporters swarmed in. She was crying. I was about to. I can't believe my flock split, again!

"Angel," I said, looking at her. "Are they serious?"

Angel nodded through tears. "Yes! They're going to New York City!" Angel turned and cried on my shoulder.

Mom stared at the door with her mouth open. Fang watched me, seeing what I would do.

I wrapped my arms around Angel. "It's okay, baby. We can't let them do this. If they really are serious, they won't be coming back for a while. We have to find them!" I wasn't about to let the flock split for good. I was a wreck last time we split, but then Iggy and Gazzy had Fang. Now Gazzy was being led aroung by a blind freak.

Nudge sat back down and wiped her eyes. "So what do we do?"

I swallowed. "As much as I hate it, we have to go to New York and look for them."

"No!" Mom said. "Max, you can't go out there! The reporters will eat you alive! It's too dangerous. Iggy and Gazzy will come back sooner or later."

Angel shook her head. "No! They won't!"

Slowly and carefully, I moved Angel over to cry with Nudge and stood up. "Well, I'm not going to wait around! I'm going to New York to find them. I'm not having my flock split again." I narrowed my eyes at Fang. He looked away, remembering he made us split last time because I trusted Ari. "And...we can wear sunglasses. Our eyes are all that gives us way. Plus it's June, perfect sunglasses weather."

Mom sighed. "Fine, but let's go tomorrow morning."

"No, Mom! You need to stay here and contact us if they come back, with...whoever else is staying."

"I'll go with you, Max," Fang said. "I'm not letting you go into a crime infested city alone. Do you know how many guys will be hitting on you?" He chuckled. I felt my face run red. It was embarrassment, but I was about ready to punch him and it looked like anger.

"Fine," I said through my teeth.

"Nudge and Angel are staying with me," Mom said.

"Mom, we need Angel. She's the only mind reader in the group! She can tell us where Iggy and Gazzy are headed. And she can't hear them in New York from Arizona." I raised my eyebrows, knowing I had a point.

"No. I'm sorry, Max, but it's too dangerous for them to be out in New York with two teenagers. They will be fine here. Just ask around, people are bound to see or hear from them. No, you and Fang will be fine. I'm sorry."

Angel looked up. "I can tell you this, Max. They'll be going sightseeing. Iggy just decided that their first stop with be the Statue of Liberty."

I frowned. "Okay. Thanks Angel. Tell us if you get more on where they're going."

Angel nodded.

"You two get some rest," Mom said. "I'll put Angel and Nudge to bed."

I shot Fang a look before running towards my room for dreamless sleep.

The next morning I found Fang and Mom sitting at the table, sipping coffee. I had quickly packed my backpack before I went to bed last night. Fang had his sitting beside him. "Good! You're here!" Mom said. She hugged me. "I thought it would be best if you two left before Nudge and Angel woke up. Do you have you're bag?"

I nodded. "It's in my room."

"Good! Now some last minute things. I'm going to trust you with the money." Mom pulled out her wallet and gave me a wad of cash. "Will five hundred do you? It should. I already got your plane tickets. It leaves in twenty minutes." She handed me a slip of paper varifying our flight. "Now I packed your lunches and take this." She gave me an iPhone in a white and black Otterbox case.** (A/N that's what kind of phone my mom has, case and everything. Get Otterbox for iPhones, works wonders. I've dropped mine several times and Otterbox protected it.)** "Emergancy use only. No app shopping!" Wow she's a buisy bee.

I nodded. "Okay." Like we would load the thing with apps anyway. We were on a rescue mission, not a vacation.

"My number is the only one in there." I ran to get my backpack and shoved the money and phone in a sidepocket, with the charger. There was giggling down the hall. "Uh-oh," Mom said. "Nudge is up." She hugged and kissed both of us and gave us each a sack lunch. "Be careful! Call me when you get there!"

I called a reply and Fang and I got ready to leave. We slipped on sunglasses and I unlocked the door. We ran through, pushing away reporters and cameras snapped. I knew we would all be on the face of every magazine in a few days.

Reporters chased us down the block like a little boy chasing the little girl in a sundress around the playground. We turned a curb and I grabbed Fang's hand, pulling him in the trees. Reporters ran around the curb, totally unsuspected.

The paper was still in my fist as we flew for the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. We arrived with five minutes before take-off. We ran through security and baggage help, extanged the paper for two New York tickets, and found the lobby as soon as they called the flight number.

Fang insisted on the window seat. It didn't matter that much to me. I just sat there on the App Store in the iPhone. It didn't matter as long as I didn't buy anything. Fanilly Fang broke the awkward silence that had held us for days.

"You know, this is the dumbest idea I've heard in a long time." So maybe it wasn't the nicest thing he could have said, but it was better then nothing.

"What? Iggy and Gazzy running out or us going to find them?" I took off my sunglasses.

Fang took his off. "Both. Let's just say, I'm going to kill those two when we find them."

I chuckled. "When do you think we'll get there?"

"After Iggy and Gazzy have reached the Statue of Liberty, I can tell you that."

"How would they get there?"

"Iggy has several connectons you don't know about, Max. I'm sure they're already there."

"Traveling all night."

"Exactly." He flashed a half grin. I didn't return it, but bit my lip and looked down. I still didn't believe Fang really loved me. "Max, look at me." He didn't say anything else until I met his eyes, his dark eyes that makes your mind swarm. No wonder every girl falls for him. "This is about the night of the interview, isn't it? You still don't believe me."

"No, I don't! Only idiots would, like all those reporters."

"You told me to prove it. But when I do, you still don't believe I love you. How am I supposed to prove it?"

I shrugged. I didn't even know. "I guess by-" I was interruped my giggling and whispering behind me. I turned. Two girls, a blond and a brunette, sat across the aisle. They giggled again. It was perky, giggly teenage girls that caused all the stereotypes and really pushed my buttons.

"Is she your girlfriend?" the giggly blond asked Fang. She and her friend giggled again.

"I am not his girlfriend!" I hissed, putting on my best back-off-or-you'll-get-a-bloody-nose face. The two girls looked at each other and fell back into their seats. I hissed under my breath and turned back to Fang, shaking my head.

"Not yet, anyway," Fang whispered. I shot him a look. "Have you ate breakfast?"

I shook my head and opened the bag lunch my mom packed. Granola bars, two PB&J sandwiches, and juice boxs. I had a feeling Fang's was the same. I lowared the tray on the back of the seat in front of me and sat the bag contents on the trey. Fang did the same.

The two girls watched in amazement as we both ate it all. Fang, they could get him eating it all, since boys ususally pig out over every meal, but me staying skinny and eating it all just shocked them. No wonder. They were the size of beanpoles, literally! I didn't know anyone could be that small.

After the breakfast, I started getting drowsy. I only had two, maybe three hours of sleep. I had been worrying too much about Iggy and Gazzy. I looked at the phone's clock. Almost eleven. I sighed. And we weren't halfway to New York. I laid my head back on the seat and closed my eyes.

"Tired?" Fang asked. I nodded. "I didn't get much sleep either. Only about four hours." Well he got more then me. He put his arm around me and, like any normal girl, I lifted the armrest between us as I laid my head on his shoulder. "You never answered my questioin," he whispered into my ear.

"What?"

"How I prove that I really love you. You never answered it."

I mumbled something even I didn't know. "Later." Then I fell asleep on Fang's shoulder.

I woke up to the sound of the pilot's voice announcing we were almost to New York. Fang was leaned back in his seat, his arm still around me. My head was on his chest and his head was on mine, in a very awkward way that would probably put a cramp in his neck.

Slowly I sat up, making Fang jolt awake. "Almost there," I said. I looked at the phone clock. Almost two-thirty. At least I got a little sleep. All the paper from our sack lunches had been cleared out when we were asleep. I was surprised no one had stolen the iPhone.

Once we landed and got our backpacks from the luggage line, we headed out to New York. And let me tell you, if you haven't been there, you need to. I envy everyone who lives in that beautiful city all the time! Skyscrapers soared high in the skies, traffic swarmed all around us. People crowded the sidewalks. There was little green except for around buildings adnd trees, bushes, parks. I even saw a bit of the Statue of Liberty in the distance. I don't know how we're supposed to find Iggy and Gazzy.

"Wow," Fang said, looking around. I hailed a cab and told him Statue of Liberty, fast. Sure enough, we were there within fifteen minutes. I gave him the money and we ran for a farry to the statue. Let me tell you, that thing is huge. If you haven't seen it, go to Google images. It's worth more then a thousand words.

We got inside hand I ran up to the man on the counter and fished the latest picture of Iggy and Gazzy from my backpack. "Have you seen these boys?"

He took the photo and looked at it. "Yes I have. They came as soon as my sift started. They left about two hours ago."

"Did they give any indication of where they were going next?"

"They were talking about stay when they first came. The tall one, that one"-he pointed to Iggy-"said something about the Ritz-Carlton hotel."

"Ritz-Carlton," I repeated to myself. "Can you give us an address?"

The man narrowed his eyes. "What is the point of this?"

"They're...my brothers. They ran away from home to here."

His lip twiched. But he took a peice of paper and wrote in sloppy writing:

_The Ritz-Carlton hotel_

_2 West Street_

_New York, New York, 10004_

"Thank you!" I said, scooping up the paper. We took a farry ride back to New York and, with the help of a few strangers, finally found the hotel. I ran up the woman at the counter, Fang following closely behind. "Have you seen these boys?" I asked, showing her the picture. I don't know how they afforded this place.

She looked at the photo and frowned. "No. But if you give me their names I might can find them."

"Iggy and Gazzy...Martinez." The woman flipped through her check in book and shook her head. "Ride?" Again she shook her head.

"Jeff and Zephyr," Fang said. "Martinez or Ride." She flipped through again and shook her head. "Um...Batchelder!" The woman glared at him and flipped through again.

"Here they are! Jeff and Zephyr Batchelder."

"Great!" I said. "What room are they in?" I tried to peek in her book, but she snached it away.

"That is confidental and private information! I cannot tell room numbers. But if you would like, I could check you in."

"How much is a nights stay? Cheapest you got."

"The cheapest would be..." She typed something in her computer. "$325."

Fang and I exchanged glances. We couldn't afford oer six hundred per night. I looked back at the woman. "Each?" She nodded. "Are you sure that's the cheapest you have?" She nodded again. "That's too back. I only have five hundred." I decided to play the pull-on-heartstings card. Maybe it would work. "Mom's going to be so upset! She told me to book this hotel, it's her favorite! She wanted at least one good thing before...the day..."

The woman frowned. "What day."

"She has cancer. And her day is coming in less then a month. Her biggest dream was to stay at this hotel one last time, just her and my dad. Oh well." I sighed. "I guess she will pass on without living her dream." Fang's eyes dropped and he draped his arm around my sholders as we turned away.

"Wait!" the woman said. We turned back. Heart-strings always work. "Just five hundred dollars? I guess I can get you a cheap room under that..." She typed in her computer. "Oh never mind! My family is rich. I guess I can pay for your parents a room for...how many nights?"

"Uh, just two for now. They may stay longer."

"Okay. Just give me a hundred dollars and I'll pay for them a two night stay!"

My mouth dropped and I grinned at Fang. "Deal!" I grabbed my money out of the side pocket and gave the woman a hundred dollars. I can't believe that worked so well! She gave me a key. "Thank you so much! We're going to unpack for our parents before they come. Is that okay?"

She nodded. "My treat. What's their names?"

"Uh, Jeb and Valencia Martinez." She wrote it in her book.

I thanked her again and we rode the elevator to the ninth floor and unlocked the door. I gasped as my backpack fell to the floor. Guess what room that lady put us in?

The honeymoon suit.

That's right. One huge heart shaped bed, heart shaped pillows, heart shaped lamp, everything in that room was pink and red hearts.

"Well," I said. "I did say it was for my dying Mom and Dad."

Fang glared at me. "Yeah. Great job." He rolled his eyes.

I won't make you sit through unpacking details. Anyway, Fang took a blanket and pillow and put it on the floor, insisting I take the huge bed. So now my eyes hurt from writing in this red light. Yes, RED light! Off the lamp!

We're in for a long next few days.

-Maximum


	19. June 3, 2010

**Okay, I know I'm not the only one who thinks this is strange: Every time I get a good idea for this story, it pops up in Diary of a Lovesick Mutant by Phoenix Fanatic. I started reading it late, so yeah, for example:**

**My story: They go to New York to save Iggy and Gazzy.**

**DLM: They go to New York to watch the ball drop in Time Square on New Year's.**

**My story: ...Max and Fang find someone who changes their lives forever, Fang the most. It will be in the next chapter, btw.**

**DLM: She shows up on their doorstep and changes their lives.**

**And IMPORTAT DISCLAIMER: I do not own MR, or the show Cash Cab. Sorry Ben Bailey.**

**And don't worry, no Letters to Juliet spoilers.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**June 3, 2010**

I woke up about five in the moring and went to the shower, not wanting to wake up Fang. I left a not on the pillow around eight, telling him that I was going to look for Iggy and Gazzy around the hotel. I took a room key with me, just in case Fang was still asleep when I got back. I snuck out the door and closed it silently.

If only I could figure out what floor they were on. Just floor. Someone was bound to see them walk in. I took the elevator down to the lobby, where a man was looking for something on the computer. Slowly I stepped up to the desk. "Hello!"

He looked up. "Hello, welcome to the Ritz-Carlson. How may I help you?"

"I know it's, sort of against the rules, but my brothers ran away and I need to find them. I know they're somewhere in this hotel. Could you please tell me which floor Jeff and Zephyr Batchleder are on?" I held my breath, hoping he would bend the rules.

"You're brothers?" I nodded. "It is against the rules, as you say, but the floor is not the room. Floor 9."

Same floor Fang and I were on. "Thank you!" I said, already making my way to the elevator. I glanced at my watch. 8:15. Maybe someone was up.

The first thing I noticed was that they had delivered papers in front of the doors. And someone would have to be up for the paper to be gone. I knocked on a door. A young woman in a bathrobe opened the door and smiled. "Hello."

"Hello," I said, taking the picture out of my pocket. "Is there a chance you've seen my brothers? I heard they were on this floor and my parents are really worried about them." That's when Fang decided to walk up, still half asleep. "This is my other brother...Nick."

"Yes, I have. I didn't see what room the went in, but just five minutes ago they said something about the AMC Empire 25 Time Square theater."

I glanced at Fang. We both knew we had to get to AMC Empire 25. I thanked the woman and we ran for the elevator, again. "Fang, we have to find them today. We have to check out tomorrow, and if we don't find them we'll be sleeping on the street."

He shrugged. "That wouldn't be anything new."

Outside I hailed a cab and we climed inside. I groaned as Ben Bailey turned and grinned. Nudge had a Cash Cab marathon while we were stuck in the house, and it was better then sitting around doing nothing. "Welcome to the Cash Cab!" he cooed.

"Look, Ben, we don't have time for this. We're really in a hurry." I glanced at Fang. He held up three fingers, put together his two index fingers to form an X, and jammed his thumb over his shoulder. Three X out. Three strikes your out!

"Well, you might as well earn some money while your at it," Ben said. Eh, he had a point. We needed money. Mom's five-three hundred dollars might not last long.

I sighed and nodded. "AMC Empire 25 Time Square." Ben nodded and pulled onto the highway.

"Now this first question is worth twenty-five dollars..."

By the end of the ride, when we were at the AMC Empire 25 Time Square theater, we had three hundred dollars with our un-educated selves. Ben offered us the Double or Nothing! By the end of all those Cash Cab episodes, I'd sort of dozed off, except for when they always shouted when they win double their money. Ben explained to us if you answer it right, you get double your money, six hundred dollars for us, but if you get it wrong you get out with nothing.

I looked at Fang and shook my head. We didn't need six hundred extra dollars. And we didn't know when Iggy and Gazzy were showing up. We collected our three hundred and jumped out. The theater was huge. Google it. Really no words can explain. Well, they can, but my hand is cramping and I want to get to the point.

"They aren't here," Fang said. I frowned. We just stepped into the theater, the PACKED to the MAX theater. Haha. Max.

"How do you know that?"

He shrugged. "New power."

"Again? First future reading dreams and now what? Speaking of your dreams, see anything?"

"No. I didn't even have a dream. Well, I had one, but it was about Dr. M sitting here with the girls doing nothing. I guess I can sense if people are there or not. Like this morning, I knew you were outside the door before I opened my eyes."

"Great. So what, you can 'sense' the whole theater?" He nodded. "Perfect. So what do we do now?"

"Max, we're in a movie theater. We just won three hundred dollars from some wacky cab. We might as well see a movie."

I shrugged. "Might as well. What do we see?"

"You choose."

Sighing, I looked at the movie times. "Letters to Juliet starts at 10:15. But we don't have to see that. You wouldn't like it. I heard it was a chick flick. Or we could see-"

He was already at the ticket counter, buying two tickets to Letters to Juliet. I pursed my lips to keep from smiling as I walked up to her. The lady at the counter raised her eyebrows. "Oh, how sweet! Taking your girlfriend to see a movie."

"I'm not his girlfriend!" I said. "We're just waiting for someone and thought we would see a movie in the mean time! Just friends."

She nodded. "Well, Letters to Juliet was named the top romance movie of the top romance movie of the year."

"And also the must-see," I said, taking the tickets from her. Fang gave her the money and we walked for the theater, not bothering with popcorn or soda. We took seats near the top. I was instantly ready to punch the boy behind me, who kept using the seat as a foot prop even though I was sitting there. And he was amusing himself by shaking his leg...

I glanced at my watch. Movie started in ten minutes. That meant ten minutes of being beat in the back by the Kangaroo Kid. I cluched the arm rest so tight the skin on my knuckles threatened to break. "KNOCK IT OFF!" I screamed, whipping my head to the side. The boy and his mother raised their eyebrows. "Tap the floor, will ya?" His feet dropped.

Fang was about to bust out laughing. I shot him a look.

The movie was much more romance-y then I expected, but really good. I was just happy the girl had a happy life with the guy she wanted. But that line rang in my ears from the letter: _If I ever found my Romeo, I hope I can go for him._ Wait-who was my Romeo?

Fang tapped my shoulder after the letter was read at the wedding. "Iggy and Gazzy are here!" he whispered in my ear. We jumped up and ran from the movie. We saw them in line for tickets. But Iggy looked up and saw us running for them. He grabbed Gazzy's arm and pulled him out.

I caught them getting in a taxi. I quickly hailed one, telling the driver not to let them out of sight.

"That was a good movie," Fang said.

"You didn't think it was a chick flick?"

He shook his head. "I liked it. The girl went after the guy for a change." He chuckled. "And it gave me a chance to see how to convince you I really do love you."

My eyebrows raised. "And what's that? Make me leave and chase after me? Yeah, cause that worked _so_ well."

"No. Be a Romeo."

It was my turn to laugh. "You're going to pretend to be Romeo? And what am I supposed to do, quote Shakespear? 'Romeo, Romeo, where for out thou, Romeo!'" I bursed out laughing. "Yeah. Good luck with that. Cause I didn't know who Shakespear was before this movie."

"You don't even have to be a Juliet."

"Good. You do know that they both die in the end, right? I prefure for us both to live."

"They died when they thought their partner was dead. But did Romeo really come back from the dead when Juliet killed herself?"

"I think it was the other way around. But I missed the Shakespear chapter in reading." I shrugged and looked out the window and New York flashed by. Suddently the taxi lurched forward and back as it came to a stop. But the people who got out were two elderly women. "Not them."

Fang ran his tounge over his teeth and rolled his eyes.

After a whole day of unsucessful Iggy/Gazzy search, we arrived at the Ritz-Carlton. I collapsed on the bed beside Fang. "We have to check out tomorrow," I groaned. To me, I sounded whiny. Oh well, even during flying I hadn't been this tired. Running around New York nonstop does that to a person.

"I'm just happy to get out of this room," Fang said. "It's too perky and red. I like depressed and black."

I laughed. "Hungry? I'm ordering a pizza." I reached for the phone.

He swatted my hand away. "I'm...not hungry."

"Well, I am." I reached for the phone.

"The pizza can wait!" Fang screamed. Fang _screamed._ Fang doesn't _scream._ Especially not at me.

Needless to say, I didn't touch the phone again.

"Sorry," he said. "I just want to know why you don't believe me."

I knew what he meant. But honestly, I don't know why I'm telling you this. I also don't know why I don't believe him.

"I don't know, maybe because..." I didn't want to finish the sentence in my head, much less to him. He raised his eyebrows. I shook my head. "I'll tell you in the morning. Forget the pizza. Can we just go to bed? It's been a long day." I looked away nervously.

He took a deep breath. "Fine, Max. Good night." He leaned down and kissed me gently. He pulled away and caressed my cheek with his thumb. "See you in the morning." He grabbed a pillow and a blanket and made his place on the floor. I pulled back the covers and laid down, waiting until Fang was aleep to get this out.

But one thing keeps ringing in my head. What I was going to say:

_Maybe because it's too good to be true._

-Maximum


	20. June 4, 2010

**Analie is pronounced Anna-lee**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**June 4, 2010**

I didn't tell Fang what I was thinking last night. He didn't even ask. We both slept in, which was strange for Fang, considering he's up before the sun. We slept until about nine, and checked out in the main lobby. Then, we were on the streets of New York.

What do we do? Camp out in a dumpster? In an old cab? Keep searching for Iggy and Gazzy? I was sure they were still asleep, and they weren't going to let us back in. Maybe if we wonder the streets enough some good Samaritan will stop us and offer us shelter. Not likely.

"Fang, look!" I said, grabbing his arm and pointing to a licence's plate. I was trying not to laugh. FANG402. It looked like FANGgal. Fang's eyes widened as he tried not to crack a smile. "Let's follow them," I suggested. He nodded.

With the traffic around lunch time, it would be hard to loose a cream Trail Blazer with a tag that sticks out anywhere. They drove to the outskirts of the city and pulled into a house. You're average brick house. A woman and little girl got out and went into the car when we caught up.

"I feel like a stalker," Fang laughed, out of breath. He put his hands on his knees.

"We are, Fang. We are. Might as well see if she'll help us."

Fang shrugged. We walked up to the house and knocked on the door. I just wondered why a mom would have a FANGgal tag. That seemed more like what a high school girl would do. Talk about young at heart. There was shuffling inside before the door opened.

My jaw dropped as my eyes flickered from the woman to Fang. Neither of them seemed to notice anything, until I grabbed Fang's wrist. They both looked at me questioningly. Then the little girl jumped up behind her mother, making me gasp more.

"Max, what is it?" Fang asked, looking concerned.

"You don't see it?" I asked, almost yelling at him.

"See what?"

I looked at the woman. "Do you have a mirror?"

She nodded. "In the bathroom."

"Lead us there." I didn't let go of Fang's wrist as we made our way to the bathroom. I positioned all three of them in front of it. "Don't you see it? You look exactly alike!" The woman looked just like Fang, but with longer black hair, and a few inches shorter then Fang. The little girl had a darker skin tone, but still looked like them.

The woman gasped. "You're...fifteen, aren't you?" she asked, not taking her eyes off Fang's image in the mirror. He nodded. "And you're adopted?"

"Um, you could say that." He turned around and leaned on the bathroom counter.

Tears ran down her cheeks. "No way."

"Mommy?" the little girl asked, tugging on her mom's sleeve. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

She picked up the little girl and held her close. "Something great might have just happened." She turned to Fang. "One last question. A birthmark, on your back, do you have one?"

Fang frowned. I spun him around and lifted up his shirt. There was a mark on his lower back, almost a scar, slashing down. "Is this it?"

The woman broke down in sobs so hard she could hardly nod. The little girl grabbed tight her her mother's neck. "William! I thought you were dead!" She threw her arm over Fang's neck. Fang looked surprised. "I thought you were DEAD!" she shouted so loud Fang jumped.

"William? I don't know who you're talking about...but we'll help you get your William back," Fang said.

She sat the girl down and pulled away from Fang. She took his face in her hands. "Just let me look at you!" Fang frowned and looked at me. I shrugged. "You look just like you did when you were a baby!" She pointed to a picture on the wall of a joining bedroom. A little boy in a blue blanket looked up with brown eyes. He looked like a newborn. And sure enough, he looked just like Fang.

"Huh? Wait-are you saying my name is _William?"_

She nodded. William really didn't fit him. The little girl tugged at her mom's sleeve again. "Honey!" She picked the girl up again. "This is your brother! This is William!" Meanwhile, I was standing in the back, pressed against the wall to give them space.

"Um," I started. "I don't mean to interrupt this...confusing...reunion, but don't you think this would all be better in the living room?"

The woman wiped her eyes. "Of course, I'm sorry, honey," she said to me. "I've been so caught up with William I let you fall through the cracks."

"Don't worry about it. I'm use to falling through the cracks." We all walked to the living room, colored in white and cream. It reminded me freakishly of the Arizona News studio. Arizona. I wonder how Mom and the girls are doing...

"Looks like I have some explaining to do," she said. "Well, when William was born, his father and I couldn't have been happier. I was only sixteen at the time, a little young and arrogant. Maybe that's why I don't even know where your father is, William. But after the picture in my room was taken, I was told you have breathing difficulties, and later passed.

"After you were gone, William, your father and I drifted apart and later divorced. Then I married Analie's father, divorced him later. I don't know what happened to you, William! I don't know how you are _alive!_ You were pronounced dead by doctors!"

Fang and I extanged looks. We both mouthed one word: _Itex._

"Very long story, um, _Mom,"_ Fang said, tugging at his collar. The woman smiled at that. "Trust me, you don't want to know. The point is, I was taken from you and Dad. But It -" -He eyes Analie - "_bad people._ There was nothing you could have done."

"But at least I have you now! I know you're alive!" She took a deep breath. Then she looked at me. "And who are you?"

"Max," I said. "Me and Fang - I mean _William_ - came here to look for some lost friends. We can't really pay for hotel rooms anymore. And we sort of saw your car tag, FANG402, and we followed you. I know it was wrong, but we were desprite."

"Fang?" She looked at him. "You're called Fang?" He nodded. "You wouldn't have made Fang's blog?"

"So you've heard of it?" Fang asked.

"Heard of it?" She laughed. "Who hasn't? I'm one of those people who's been hanging onto you every word! And all this time, Fang was my own son! If only I had known! Well, if you are Fang, I know your whole story. It's really amazing. Oh, and did you say you needed somewhere to stay?"

We extanged looks. We could not live with his wacko mother. "Yeah," I said, standing up. Fang did, too. "But don't worry about it. We'll find a cheap hotel."

"No! It will be a great chance to get to know my son!" Wow. That sounded weird. "I insist you stay with us!"

"It's fine, ma'am," Fang said. She shot him a look. _"Mom._ We'll...call you if we need anything. Max has a cell phone." He crossed over for the door. I was right behind him. We were out of the door before she could stop us. She appeared in the doorway.

"I'm in the phone book under Mary Lou Hather!" she called. Analie squeezed out and ran, grabbing both our legs.

"No!" she said. We both looked down at her. "Don't go! I just met my brother! Don't take him away!"

Fang shot me a 'help' look.

I picked Analie up. "Look, Analie. We'd...love...to stay, but your mother has you to look after. We'll visit tomorrow. I promise."

"No! I don't want Bubba to leave!" She crossed her arms and looked at Fang.

He sighed. "Analie, you have to stay here. We have to go. We'll be fine, we've done this before. We have...connections for money. We'll be okay. And we'll visit for lunch."

Analie struggled out of my arms and ran to Fang's. "Don't go!" She buried her head in Fang's chest.

Mary Lou came up behind us. "Max, William, if Analie wants to stay with you, and you will let her, I'll pay for her meals and stay at a hotel. But you better come for lunch." I shot Fang a never-gonna-happen look. Then, Analie turned on Angel's Bambi eyes, probably his only weakness.

"Fine, if you really want to, you can come with us."

Analie cheered and hugged his neck. Mary Lou tapped my hand and slid some money in for her meals and stay. "Bye, Analie. Be good for William and Max. See you tomorrow, William." She kissed both of their cheeks. "See you tomorrow, Max." I waved at her as she walked back to her house.

So a dinner for two turned into a dinner for three, hotel room for two turned into a hotel room for three, and some dude in the lobby thought Analie was our kid. "You look a little young to have an five-year-old daughter," he said. He glared at me.

"Yeah," I said sarcastically. "I had a kid when I was ten. Sure."

He frowned and walked away.

So I'm in one of the beds we got with this room, Analie in the other and Fang on a pull-out couch.

Tomorrow should be interesting.

-Maximum


	21. June 11, 2010

**And yes to The Layman. Fang did find his mother in DLM. If you refure to chapter...19 or 18, I mention how a lot of my plot suddently shows up after I decide it. I hinted at this.**

**And not just this, but the PLOT! You might not get it now, but you will. That's all I can say. I came up with the plot at the beggining of the story!**

**ATTENTION! **

**You may notice that March 18 entry is gone. But I still have it saved on another document! If anyone can tell me how to get it in the right spot, I can return it. But I don't have it in a spot for three months later!**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**June 11, 2010**

I woke up the next morning in sweat. I felt like I held a wet rag to my face and held it there. Analie was still asleep in the bed beside me, Fang was still lying there, his eyes open, back of his hand resting on his forehead. I slid out of the bed and walked over to him.

"Hey," he whispered. His eyes shot to Analie. "She still asleep?"

"Yeah," I whispered back. "She had a big day yesterday. We all did?"

"Tell me about it. And this couch bed doesn't help a sore back." He chuckled silently. "Lunch today at Mary Lou's."

"She's your mom."

"I'm not calling that wack woman Mom. Twice was two times too many. I can't even call Analie my little sister, or half sister." He shook his head. _"William._ I can't believe my name is _William._ Eh, better then Guy." He rubbed his eyes.

Analie's eyes opened as she sat up. "I had the weirdest dream," she murmured. "I met my brother and -" she saw us. "It was real?"

Fang nodded. "Yeah, Analie. We're going to your mother's for lunch."

"She's your mother, too, William."

"Call me Fang. Please."

"Okay, Fang. What now?"

"Get dressed," I said. "We're going shopping." Fang looked at me like I was from a distant planet. "We need new clothes. A little shopping won't kill you, Fang." I stood up and brushed off my knees. I don't know why. The floor wasn't dirty. But I stretched, wishing I was still in bed.

He groaned and sat up. "I'd rather be back in the Ritz-Carlton."

Ten minutes later we were in a shopping mall, looking for open shops. When we reached Abacrombie & Finch (or however you spell it), Fang shielded my eyes from the shirtless guy flexing his muscles. I just laughed.

Analie eyed Victoria's Secret. "I always wanted to go in there."

"No, no, no," I said. Then I saw she had her ears pierced. "I'll take you in Clair's , buy you some earrings."

Her eyes lit up.

"You two go," Fang said. "I'll meet you meet you in the food court in thirty minutes." He ran for the other side of the mall. I frowned when he was gone. I took Analie's hand and walked for Clair's. I shook off that strange feeling that was hanging over me, I don't really know how to describe it. I don't even know what it was for.

"Max?" Analie asked. "Are you dating my brother?"

"No. He's trying to convince me that - never mind." I decided to leave that out, that he was trying to convince me he loves me, since she would probably go straight to her mother and tell her that Fang's about to get married or something.

"Well, he likes you," I looked at her. "I see the way he looks at you. Same way my father looked at Mom before she divorced him."

Huh. I pulled her into Claire's, not wanting to discuss Fang anymore. But is it weird that a five-year-old knows something I don't? I shook my head. Forget it. Doesn't matter. If Fang wants to spend all his energy on proving something that can't possibly be true, let him. Not my problem.

We met him just in time to go to Mary Lou's for lunch. Fang had a small silver bag in his hand, not a gift bag, but it didn't have a store name on it, in his hand. I decided not to ask. There's been enough drama the past few days. It was probably a present for his mother anyway.

Mary Lou attacked Fang and Analie as soon as she opened the door. "I've missed you guys so much!"

"Mary Lou - _Mom_ - we've only been gone a day," Fang said.

"William, I have sixteen _years_ to make up!"

Fang frowned. She called him William again. "Okay them. What's for lunch?" He rubbed his hands together greedily. I noticed Fang hadn't given her the bag. Don't people normally present presents before the meal? Eh, we've never been caught up.

"In the car. I'm taking us all out of lunch." She stepped out with her keys and went ahead of us to her car.

Analie tugged on our sleeves. "She's not a very good cook!" she whispered. I cracked up. Fang glared.

We went to Ruby Tuesday's. We got a booth, Analie and Mary Lou on one side and me and Fang on another. Our waiter was...strange... just listen. "What would you like to drink?" he asked, taking out a ticket and a blue pen that wrote in red ink.

"Coke," we all said at once.

"Cherry coke," Fang said. We all glared at him.

Our waiter smiled. "Okay then. I'll be right back with that cherry coke, now!" Keep in mind, this is a DUDE. Sometimes you don't even have to ask. Fang shook his head and looked back to the menu. **(FUNNY A/N This same thing happened to my dad when me and my parents went to Ruby Tuesday's. He asked for a to-go box and Mom said something about the way the waiter said 'I'll be right back with that!' I looked at Dad and said 'Wait till he finds out you're married!' I've never heard Mom laugh so hard)**

Mary Lou bursted out laughing. "Sorry, Fang, it's just funny!"

Fang froze. "You called me Fang."

"What?"

"Fang! You called me Fang instead of William!" He was trying not to show emotion, but it was hard not to see the grin. I knew he hated his name. It just didn't fit him!

"Oh..." Mary Lou said, looking away, as if she just realized a mistake. "I've just known you as Fang longer. I read your blog! You and Max, and Iggy and Gazzy - they're the ones your trying to find, right? - Nudge and Angel! And Total!"

I nodded. "Iggy and Gazzy. They ran off after they were sick of being boxed in the house after -"

"MaryEllen? Yes, I've read about that on Fang's blog. And Cindy. And Bella and Is."

I raised an eyebrow and frowned at him. "Really? You put all that on your blog?"

"Not any of the interviews or things you said, Max! Tney probably saw that on TV."

"Yeah, if they live in Arizona." Fang shrugged and looked away. His foot nudged me and he looked under the table, then hit the middle leg of the table. I rolled my eyes, and saw the little silver bag under his chair. I saw a little bit of what was inside - a little rectangle box covered with black velvet and gold hinges.

-line-

Two hours later we were in Mary Lou's car headed back. Analie was begging to come with us. "PLEASE. He's still my brother and I've only got to be with him one day!"

"No, Analie. You can't go with them every day."

"I only have once!"

"Analie, no, and that's final."

Analie crossed her arms and sat back between us. "I hate you!" she said softly.

"What?"

She huffed. "I hate you!"

Mary Lou pulled over the car and turned around. "I will not have that language in my car, young lady! Or home! Now I said no! Do I need to wash that mouth out with soap?"

"I still hate you!"

"I will take you out of this car!" She undid her belt and held it up!

"You always do that! You always threaten me to get me to do things, but you never do them! I've heard that called _blackmail! _You never go through with your threats, ever! And I'm sick of it! You NEVER do anything!" She huffed and pursed her lips.

"I am your mother and I will not be spoken to in that way or tone!"

"Well you won't do anything about it!"

"Get out of the car!"

"No!"

"I bet William would this to me!" She looked at Fang with daggers. "Would you, William?"

He shook his head. "I wouldn't have even said that to Max. Mainly because she goes through with her threats."

"See? Now I will not be spoken too like this in my car!"

"Fine! I don't ever want to be in your stupid car again! And it smells like lunch meat!" She crawled over me and opened the door. She jumped out before I could grab her and ran across the highway. Cars stopped suddenly and honked trying to dodge her, and she ran into the woods.

"I'll get her," Fang said. He jumped out of the car and ran after her.

"I can't believe it!" Mary Lou whispered. "Analie has never done this before, blown up like this! She's always had a temper, don't get me wrong, she she's never just...blown up, especially at me!" She buried her face in her hands.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "She was bound to sometime. All the kids her age have both a mother _and_ a father. It's not your fault."

"Yes it is! _I _divorced _him!_ I should have kept up with him or something. She wanted so much to go to one of those father-daughter dances. She even had a dress picked out on the Internet when she was two. I was so happy she was looking forward to it. Not many kids do."

"He had to do something to make you divorce him."

She slowly nodded. "I caught him cheating on me. Me and Analie both did. We walked in on them making out on the sofa. Without his wedding ring."

"See? It was his fault. You had right to divorce him!"

"Maybe. There's not a day that I don't wonder what would have happened if it had ended up differently. If I had stayed in touch with him. Analie is still our daughter, both of ours. I bet he's remarried with more kids. Analie probably has more half siblings she doesn't even know about."

"And maybe it would be better if she doesn't know about them. You say he cheated on you, a cheater is a cheater. Who knows he won't cheat again? She might as well not get attacted to her step mother if he's going to divorce her. He's creating so many connections between children and wives he can't keep!"

"I know. But she still deserves to know who her father is. I'm a bad mother!"

"You're not a bad mother, Mary Lou! I've seen children much worse then yours! More temper fits, bad language, just rotten. You should see those mothers, freaking out and not knowing why their children are like that. They have a part in it."

She patted my hand. "Thank you, Max. You're a good girl." She turned back around. We sat there in awkward silence until Fang returned - without Analie.

He opened the side door. "I'm sorry," he said. He whipped his sweaty forehead on the back of his hand. "I ran around the woods for an hour. She's fast and got a head start. We could run all night without finding her." He took a deep breath and slid in the seat, closing the foor behind him. "File a missing person's report."

"Mary Lou," I said. "If it helps, we could search for Analie while we look for Iggy and Gazzy."

"Thank you, Max." She fished in her purse and gave me one of Analie's school pictures, her sitting cross-ankled on a stool with a waterfall scene behind her. "This is the most recent picture I have of her. I hope it's okay." She caught my nod and turned back around to start up the car again.

After Mary Lou dropped us off, we spent the rest of the day in unsuccessful Iggy/Gazzy/Analie search. We were tired and went to bed immeadeatly after we came back to the hotel. So I didn't have time to write in this. Nothing has happened so far since then, just searching.

But we're running out of money, fast. We haven't heard a word from Mom and the girls. No one has seen Iggy and Gazzy, they could be anywhere in New York. And Analie... who knows how long a five-year-old can last alone in New York City, without food or money?

Days are running out. We're loosing time.

-Maximum


	22. June 18, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**June 18, 2010**

I was laying in one of the beds, Fang in the other. I stared at the ceiling, not wanting to get up. We went to bed at eleven. Woke up at six. Spent all day searching for them, showing random people photos, but no one has seen them.

Fang was counting the remaining money. I knew we were running low. "We don't have enough for another stay," he said. My head turned. I still saw that little silver bag he had by his pillow, by his head when he slept. He had one hand on his pillow while he slept, slowing inching for the bag, as if it were the first thing he would grab if there was a robbery. "Maybe we should just...head back to Arizona. To your mom, and Angel and Nudge."

"No, Fang! I came out here with the sole purpose of finding them! Analie has been reported to the police, they're looking for her, but we report Iggy and Gazzy and they're sent for tests about why they have wings! They're probably not even in New York anymore. No one's seen them. Someone would have to see them on the sidewalks or something. You can leave if you want, but I'm staying. I'll buy a lottery ticket and hope I get lucky. Or pretend to be some homeless person and hope someone's generous."

I got that all out in one breath. I just pulled a Nudge. Oh yeah.

He glared at me. "I'm not leaving you here alone, Max. We can both pull off a homeless act."

"Then don't suggest we go back to Arizona!"

"Okay, okay. We won't go back to Arizona. Okay?"

I rolled I eyes and turned to stare back at the ceiling. "You're impossible."

"Maybe we can catch Cash Cab again."

Normally I would have laughed, but I wasn't in the mood. "Not likely."

"Max." He didn't say anything until I looked at him. He reached out his hand and nudged the silver bag forward, towards me. "Open it."

I frowned but took the bag. I reached in and felt the back velvet under my fingers. It was smooth. If only pillows were velvet. Bad sleep would be much less likely. I slowly slid it out. A rectangle. I shot Fang a look before popping open the lid. I gasped.

A chain. A thin silver chain. In the middle, connecting two sides of the chain, was the word _forever_ in cursive writing. Two sides, two halves connected by forever. I looked at Fang, my mouth open to say something, but I couldn't. The words were stuck in my throat.

He sat there, blinking.

Was this part of his plan? To prove to me he loved me? His face was expressionless was he waited for me to say something. I pulled it out of the box, letting the delicate chain fall between my fingers. I opened the little...what is that called? Hook? Yeah, I opened the hook and attached it around my neck and let my fingers graze the word forever. And yes, both ways.

I had forgotten Fang was sitting there. I looked at him. "Thank you. It's ..." The word was caught in my throat.

"Beautiful?" he finished. I nodded. "Two sides forever." He flashed a smile. "Do you believe me now?"

"I think I do." I bit my lip and turned my head back. Then I swung my legs over the side and slid my feet in my shoes. "We better get going."

Ten minutes later we were outside the hotel, asking random people if they'd seen Analie or the boys. Like we always were. Neither of us expected to find anyone who had. So Fang wasn't afraid to go look for them himself. But today, I stopped a young woman with flowing blond hair and sparkling green eyes, a woman I'd almost passed.

"Excuse me," I said. She stopped and smiled. "Have you seen these kids?" I held up the picture of Iggy and Gazzy, then the one of Analie.

She studied the pictures for a minute. "Yes, I have. This girl." She pointed to the picture of Analie.

"FANG!" I screamed, hoping he was close. He pushed through the crowd to me. "Where have you seen her?"

"About an hour ago I was walking downtown and saw her. She looked so lost. I thought it was strange that a little girl would be wandering these streets alone. I stopped her and asked where her parents were. She just burst into tears. She said her father left and she wanted her mom back, tell her she was sorry. I offered to help her find her mother and...she's in the candy shop." She pointed to a little candy store packed with dozens of children and parents.

My eyes widened. "Thank you!" We both ran in the candy store and looked over the see of kids. Then I saw a flash of long back hair and sparkling brown eyes. I pushed through the kids. "Analie!" I said. She turned.

"MAX!" She jumped in my arms and cried into my shirt. "I - I -"

Fang walked over and stroked her back. "It's okay, Analie. We'll get you back to Mary L - Mom." Analie turned and my arms and jumped from me to Fang. She buried her head in his chest. Fang looked around nervously, like comforting his sister would 'ruin his image' or something. But the store was so packed hardly anyone noticed.

We walked out of the story, Analie still riding in Fang's arms, and walked the many bocks to the end of the city. They must not have had very much publicity about Analie being missing, since no one noticed her on the streets. "Do - do you think Mom'll want me back?" Analie asked.

"Of course," Fang said, stroking her long hair. "She loves you. Much more then you know."

Analie nodded. It's been over a week, almost two since she'd seen Mary Lou last. Meanwhile, Mary Lou was worried sick. She wouldn't answer the phone, even with caller ID, and wouldn't answer the door when we tried to visit her. It was like she'd just...disappeared.

Fang banged on the door. "Mom? It's Fang. With Analie!" he called. This time I heard shuffling behind the door. Mary Lou opened it.

"Momma!" Analie jumped into her arms. Mary Lou buried her face in Analie's hair and cried. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I love you!"

"I know, I know, honey. I love you too. It's okay." She walked inside her house, me and Fang following closely behind. We sank on the sofa while Mary Lou and Analie sat in the recliner. "I'm so happy you're home! Are you hungry?" Analie nodded. Mary Lou tried to stand up, but couldn't without Analie. They both walked into the kitchen.

I kicked off my sneakers and rested my back on the armrest, pulling my knees into my chest. Fang did the same. "It's lucky you caught that woman on the street, Max," Fang said, watching the archway that led to the kitchen.

"Yeah. I almost passed her." I didn't even realize my fingers were playing with the necklace.

Fang noticed it, too, but he didn't say anything about it. "Now we just have to find Iggy and Gazzy and we can leave, right?"

I shot him a look. "I'm not leaving without them."

"I didn't suggest we do."

Then my pocket vibrated. I jumped up and hit answer. Only one person knew this number. "Mom?" I asked.

"Hey, Max!" Mom said. "How's it going in New York? Are you close to finding Iggy and Gazzy?"

"We're fine, Mom. We found - someone. Her name's Mary Lou Yarde. She's very helpful." I decided not to mention that Mary Lou was Fang's mother. "But we haven't found Iggy and Gazzy yet. We were close, but we lost them. We haven't heard anything about them for a week."

Mom sighed. "Max, I really miss you. You need to come home soon."

"I'm not leaving without Iggy and Gazzy! Same as I told Fang! I search every inch of this _country_ if I have to!"

Mom sighed. "Okay, Max. If you tell me where you are, maybe I can send Angel to you." I heard squeals in the background. "But only if you come home in at least a month. You're money has to be running out. Make sure you come home when your money is gone, at least to get more."

My eyes widened. I couldn't let Mom know our money was gone. "Um, we found Cash Cab. Six hundred!" That wasn't a total lie. We did find the Cash Cab. We just didn't make six hundred. "And Mary Lou is...letting us stay with her for a cheap board."

"Yeah? Mary Lou sounds like a very nice woman. How much is the board?"

"Um..." How much was board, usually? I glanced nervously from side to side. "Just forty dollars a night." That wasn't too much, was it?

"Forty?"

"That includes meals and sheets. And...stay." I was dying here! "So just send Angel to her address. And don't worry, she reads Fang's blog. She knows about the wings. But we haven't shown them to her yet." I told her Mary Lou's address.

"Okay. I'll head her that way. Have fun and be careful!"

Fun? We're in a huge city, looking for two boys. It was like needles in a haystack. _Moving_ needles in a _moving_ haystack! "Love you, bye," I said. I pressed the end call button and looked at Fang. "Angel's coming. Here."

"Angel?" Fang repeated, lifting his eyebrows.

Before I could respond, Mary Lou came in with a tray of cookies in her hands and Analie around her neck. Wow. That shows you how young she is. Thirty-one with a fifteen-year-old son. "Here you go, guys. Eat up. I know you're hungry."

I took a bite of cookie. Yum. Chocolate. "Fang, we need to get going soon. We still have to find a cheaper hotel."

"Any cheaper and they'll be free," Fang mumbled, picking up a cookie and looking at it hungrily.

Mary Lou wiped her hands on a hand towel. "You need a place to stay? You can stay here!"

"No, no, no," I said. "We don't want to intrude."

"I insist! It will be like William never left! And, of course, Max."

Fang and I exchanged glances. He shrugged. We did need a place to stay. We had to find a thirty-per-person stay or we'd be living in the back of an abandon SUV. I sighed. "Okay, I guess. Thank you." I tried to smile. Even though this was the only place, Mary Lou was the last person I wanted to stay with.

Analie cheered.

The next day Angel arrived, with her backpack strapped to her back. She landed in the woods, not wanting to freak Analie out. **_Max, I'm here,_** she said in my head.

I met her at the door. "Hey, Angel. Fang's taking a shower and Mary Lou and Analie are heading out the back door for the park." We walked in and sat on the sofa.

"She has a nice house," Angel said. "So who is...Mary Lou Yarde?"

My palms got sweaty. "She..um..."

"Fang's mother," Angel said. Ugh, that mind reading can get annoying. "Heard that. So how did you meet her?" I opened my mouth to answer. "Oh." I frowned. It was like she just, suddently got boring or something. I didn't think that then, but looking back, I wish I would have. Just to get her mad.

I heard Fang's shower turn off in the bathroom. I didn't notice my hand creep up to touch the necklace Fang gave me. Angel's eyes bugged out. "Max! That's beautiful! Where did you get it?" She looked at me with wide eyes.

I blushed. _You know who,_ I thought. _His name starts with an F and rhymes with boomerang._

Angel grinned. "I saw your MaryEllen interview. He loves you. He always has, Max! And you rejected him!"

"I haven't after yesterday morning when he gave me this." Then I realized what she said. "What do you mean he's always loved me?"

"He's aways been in love with you! You've just never known it. From the time Jeb saved us from those dog crates until now." She chuckled. "You should have heard his thoughts when you told Cindy you loved him. He was screaming like a little girl. In his head, I mean."

I laughed. Fang walked in, his hair still wet, and shot us a half smile as he took a seat in the recliner. I laughed harder.

We kept up small talk until Mary Lou and Analie came back from the park. Then Angel tensed. _**She's hiding something.**_

I almost laughed. _Mary Lou? Hiding something?_

_**Yes! But she knows that I read minds, and she's trying not to think about it.**_ She loosened up a bit. **_I don't think it's anything bad._**

_What about Analie?_

_**Clean. She still thinks her mother is a saint.**_

That's all that's happened. Apparently Mary Lou is clean. And was hiding that she had extra Fuggy bars in the freezer for us.

Our days were spent searching for Iggy and Gazzy. Angel couldn't cover all of New York City at a time, only half. But she could still read the minds of people we asked and showed the photos. Unless Iggy and Gazzy spend their whole time running back and forth from the North of the city and the South, they weren't even here.

Maybe we can get out of Mary Lou's house soon. Move on to the Ozarks or something. Canoe the Buffalo River. I've always heard it's beautiful there. A few more days without results, and we're out of here. I can grantee that.

The next few days should be pretty interesting.

-Maximum


	23. June 22, 2010

**TO THE LAYMAN!**

**I told you, I read it late. Apparently you don't read author's notes, you need to. Some of it is important. I made this plot when I hadn't gotten past Fang's Gazzy/Beyonce Facebook. I've tweaked my plot a little. You will see in a few chapters.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**June 22, 2010**

**THE LAYMAN ABOVE!**

"I don't think they're here, Max," Angel said. We had been looking for hours, showing people the picture, seeing if we could get a thought picked up by Angel. We were all tired, and upset, and ready to quit. We were already loosing hope. If they weren't here, there would be little hope to find them. We all knew that.

"It's all MaryEllen's fault. If she hadn't -" I paused, remembering. "If I hadn't accepted it," I whispered, "none of this would have happened. It's all my fault."

"It was their decision. Apparently they were more serious than they thought." Angel sighed and looked down.

I took out the phone and unlocked it. Half a battery and no missed calls or texts. "Mom and Nudge would have called if they went home. And they know we're looking for them." I looked at Fang. "They saw us at the theater. They ran off. They didn't want to be found."

Fang placed his hand on my shoulder. I was fingering the _forever_ necklace, which I do when I get nervous, apparently. "It's about noon. Let's go eat."

We slipped into the nearest McDonald's and ordered. Angel made them put in the Shrek Forever After toy she wanted, and a size down on my drink, which didn't fly well. We got a booth near the window, collapsing in the seat as soon as we got to the table.

I picked at my Quarter Pounder, really not in the mood for food.

"Max," Fang said. "I know you're disappointed. But there's nothing you can do."

"I know," I said, picking up a fry and eating it. "We might as well just head to Manhattan tomorrow, look there for a while."

Angel sighed. "Maybe. But something tells me we'll never find them."

"Don't tell me that! This is the second time my flock slip up, and I hate it even more then the first time!"

Fang averted his eyes, remembering that he called the split. "Max, none of us like it. Iggy and Gazzy were brothers to all of us. We hate this is much as you do."

My hand was at the necklace again. I sighed and close my eyes, trying to get my thoughts together. "I know," I said quietly. "But for now, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's just enjoy Micky D's." I opened my eyes again and grabbed my burger. Fang and Angel exchanged looks.

Thirty minutes later, we were back at Mary Lou's house. Analie giggled and jumped into my arms as soon as she saw us. We all joined Mary Lou in watching _Dancing with the Stars._ I, personally, don't care for dance shows. But it's popular. Who am I to judge?

"We're leaving tomorrow," I told Mary Lou, brushing a strand of Analie's dark hair behind her ear. "Iggy and Gazzy aren't here."

Mary Lou looked down. "Why? I just found you guys, found William after fifteen years. Don't make me loose him again."

"You're going away?" Analie asked. "Don't go!"

"We have to. Our home is in Arizona, with our family. All of our family. That includes Iggy and Gazzy. Home isn't home without all of us."

"Exactly," Mary Lou said. "Our home isn't the same without William. And you, of course. We've gotten too use to life with you."

The look on Analie's face almost broke my heart, but I had to say it. "Our home is in Arizona. Yours is here in New York. We have to go to our home."

"You're leaving?" Analie asked. "For good? I knew when you came it couldn't be true!" A tear ran down her cheek and she jumped out of my arms, running to her room. I heard a door slam. Poor kid. I stared down the hall for a minute.

"I'll talk to her," Fang and I said at the same time, standing up. We looked at each other and sat down. "You can. Stop." We said that all in unison. Oh yeah. That takes skill.

I took a deep breath. "We'll both talk to her." I stood up and walked down the hall, Fang right behind me. I gently nocked on the door. "Analie? It's Max and F-William."

First Fnick. Now Fwilliam. What's with that?

"Go away!" Analie yelled. I heard more crying.

Fang wiggled the doornob. Analie had locked it. He picked up a paper clip and picked the lock. The door swung open. Analie's head shot up, saw us, and buried in the pillow. Fang and I sat at the edge of her bed. I waited for a few more tears before putting my hand on her back. "Analie, the longer you spend crying the closer we get to leaving."

Analie glared at me but sat up. "Why do you have to go and leave me with Momma? Why? It's so _boring_ with just us! Don't make me go back to life with just us! Why couldn't ... why couldn't you and your family just move in with us? It's so much more exciting with you two there!"

Fang and I exchanged looks. "Analie, my family has seven members," I said. "Eight if you count Ella, but she'll be gone for a while. The house is already stuffed with just me, Fang, and Angel. We just, couldn't do that. I'm sorry. We have to stay in Arizona."

"It's not fair! Why don't you just stay here? There's enough room!"

"Our own family needs us," Fang said.

"Me and Momma are your family, too! We need you, too!"

I reached up and wiped her eyes with my thumb. "I'm sorry, Analie. It's just not possible."

_"Everything_ is possible."

I looked away, my hand at the necklace. If everything was possible, why hadn't we found Iggy and Gazzy? Why are all those kidnapped kids killed before police find them? Why isn't the BP oil spill stopped? But then again, we found Analie before anything happened to her. There are thousands, possible a million people and NYC. It's not very likely you'll find a little girl.

"There will be a lot of people coming and going in your life, Analie," Fang said. I looked at him. "It's something everyone goes through. And this is not going to be the last time. We'll call, visit every once in a while. But we all knew we couldn't stay forever."

Wow. Who knew _Fang_ was so deep?

Analie looked at her bed sheet. "Yeah, I guess so. But it's so sad! Why can't everyone stay where they are and never leave?"

Fang shrugged. "I don't know. I wish the same thing. But that's not the natural scheme of life."

"I don't know or care what that means. But I don't think I like it. I hate the natural shem of life!"

_"Scheme._ It means - oh, never mind. Will you please come back to the living room?"

Analie nodded. "Okay." She sniffled as she stood up and followed us to the living room.

"Are you okay, honey?" Mary Lou asked.

She nodded. "I guess." She looked at me and Fang and tried to smile. Emphasis on _tried._ She looked down as Mary Lou put her hand on Analie's shoulder. Mary Lou bent down and whispered in her ear. Analie nodded. "I know."

"Well," I said, rubbing my hands together. "Fang, Angel, we better get packing." We stood up and went off to our rooms to pack. As I stuffed my clothes in my backpack, I couldn't help but finger the necklace. What if Iggy and Gazzy weren't in Manhattan? Then this whole trip would have been for nothing.

But even though Mary Lou seemed weird, I couldn't help but feel sorry we had to leave. She was Fang's mom, after all. Analie. The sweet five year old. She looked so much like Fang it was extremly uncanny. And she was about the size of Angel. It was hard not to take her. She looked - _acted_ like a member of the flock.

I had to forget about them. They were Fang's family, but we were his family. He was a member of our family. After we found Iggy and Gazzy, our family would be complete again, just like it was before. We could all forget this nightmare and act like it never happened.

And that was exactly what I expected us to do.

-Maximum


	24. June 23, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**June 23, 2010**

I didn't expect to open this so soon, I apologize. But you need to know what I just heard.

First in inside: There are two guests rooms. Fang and I had gotten them at first, but when Angel came, she got my guest room and I bunked with Analie.

Analie has only one bed. One, queen sized bed. At first it seemed like a good deal, until it came time for bed. We both have a side of the bed, and the middle was empty at first. But Analie rolls, and ends up pushing me off the bed. And she snores. None of the flock snores, so I'm not use to falling asleep to it.

Usually when I'm about to hit the floor, I get up and take a quilt to sleep on the couch. It's actually more comfortable then you think. Then I wake up at about 5:30 and head back up to Analie's room, so it looks like I was there the whole night.

When I went to bed last night, I had a headache from thinking. I went to bed with my hand on the necklace, and didn't move it as Analie fell asleep. Then she snored and rolled. I dozed off for a while, and was pushed off, hitting my head on the side of the nightstand before hitting the floor.

So I grabbed a blanket and headed down to the living room. I threw it on the couch and pulled out a glass. I was about to get a glass of water when I heard a crash.

I dropped the glass. It shattered in the sink. I looked around desperately and keeled down behind a chair. It was a new moon, and cloudy, so there was no light. My breath caught in my throat. Something opened - the wall? - and someone ran out, probably a girl. I couldn't see them, but they shoved the wall closed behind them and ran out the door. I couldn't get a good look, all I saw was medium-length dark hair and wide blue eyes.

"Wha -" I started. It all happened so fast I had to take a minute to process what happened. The wall was a door? I jumped out from my hiding place and came over to the wall. Where did she open it? It all looked just the same.

That girl - broke in? My head whipped around, ready to fight. I ran out the front door, but the girl was long-gone. I jumped in the air and whipped out my wings. I didn't know where I was going, just where my head told me to go. I realized that everything I saw, we had searched for Iggy and Gazzy.

Suddenly I froze, which wasn't good in the air. I started to drop like a stone. My wings caught me as I hit the ground. I hid behind a tree and looked in front of me with wide eyes. A building - the candy shop we found Analie in. It was burned to the ground. All that sat there was...ashes.

My heart beat wildly. We had just been there a few weeks ago. And now there was nothing left. My stomach leap to my throat as I realized that the ashes were days old, and pushed and shoved around by wind. Ashes were scattered down the sidewalks and streets, and there was no breeze tonight. I just wonder why no one had made move to clean them up.

I flew back to the house, dozens of thoughts going through my head. The girl, the candy shop, something told me they were connected. I thought about the woman who told us Analie was in the shop. She couldn't have been the girl I saw. She had long blond hair, not medium dark hair. And green eyes instead of blue. So who was is?

I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. Too many things happened tonight. It was only one-thirty, maybe later. I flew through over NYC, looking at everything I had seen before, and one or two I hadn't. My breath slowed, my head began to clear. My hand was at my necklace the whole time, fingering it so violently I was afraid I would break it. I forced my hand down.

Deep breaths. In, out, in, out.

Relax, just fly. Don't focus on you wings.

Stop falling!

I picked myself back up. I really needed to stop talking to myself. It's going to be my death.

When I landed in the yard, I saw Fang step out of the house towards me. "Where were you?"

"Out talking a flight. Clearing my head." My breathing picked back up and I started talking faster and faster. "Fang! The wall and the girl and the candy shop go boom ashes and crashes and poor little water glass and snoring and rolling and nightstand and the hard floor go owie and -"

He grabbed me and kissed me hard on the lips. "Max, calm down. Everything's okay. Slow down and tell me what happened."

My heart didn't slow down, or my breathing. "Why - why are you out here?"

"I heard glass shatter. I walked down to the kitchen and saw glass in the sink, and a blanket on the sofa, and the door wide open." He took a deep breath. "And I checked all the rooms, and you weren't in bed. I thought -" He shook his head.

I knew what he was thinking. That someone had broken the glass and used it to kill me, and took me out of the house to dump my body. "Everything's fine," he said. "You're fine, except you scared me to death." He shrugged and looked away.

"Sorry. I just - I'll tell you in the morning. Let's just go in, please."

Fang took my hand and we walked back in Mary Lou's house. "I'll sleep on the couch, you just go back to bed."

"No. Analie snores and pushes me off the bed. I have a knot on my head where I hit the nightstand."

"Then sleep in the gestroom I'm in. And try to get some sleep, please. This is our last night here." He gave me a goodnight kiss and sat of the couch. "'Night."

"Yeah. 'Night." I walked up to Fang's room, where I am now.

I probably won't be able to go to sleep, anyway. But it's worth a try. Goodnight, Ella. Maybe it will be better later, It's already thee-thirty in the morning.

-Maximum


	25. June 26, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**June 26, 2010**

Remember how I said it might be better later in the day? Boy, was I wrong! Cause if you consider waking up handcuffed and duct taped to the back of a chair in a cold, dark room 'fun' or 'exciting', somthing's seriously wrong with you.

Yes, that's how I woke up. I was shivering, and nothing I did broke the tape. I called out, hoping someone was close enough to hear. I heard a sob in return and a 'shh'. A million thoughts flew through my mind, and I felt certain I was about to die.

But if I was dead, how could I write in this? Unless you believe in afterlife or something. Lights flickered on. It took my eyes a minute to adjust to the sudden brightness. Across from me, Analie and Mary Lou were bound the same way. On my right was Angel, and to my left...

"Max! I'm so sorry about all of this," he said. He hung his head. "I just - overreacted."

I just sat there with my mouth half open. "But you - never mind. I'm just happy to see you're okay." I looked from Iggy to Gazzy, and back again. My hand would be at the necklace if it wasn't tied to my chair. Who was responsible for this, anyway? I tugged on my binds again, all I was doing was wasting energy.

"Will we still be able to come back?"

"If we ever get out of here," I mumbled, looking around. We were in a metal room with a high ceiling and no windows. Our backpacks were against a wall, out of our reach. There was a staircase several yards away, to a blank wall. I remembered that Angel's guest room was right behind the kitchen, and part of that wall was probably hers...

Mary Lou burst into sobs. "I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!"

I opened my mouth to say something, but Ig beat me to it.

"Yes it is your fault! And now you pretend to be like us? That's low, even for a jerk like you!"

My mouth dropped. "Iggy! Apologize! That's Fang's mother you just said that too!"

"Stop, Max," Mary Lou said. "He's right. I am a jerk, and it is all my fault. But I'm not the biggest jerk here, because she..."

"Angel, is she telling the truth?" Iggy asked, staring at Angel. She shrugged. "If you're so sure, why aren't you letting Angel read your thoughts?"

"No, Iggy!" Angel said. "I can't read her thoughts, or anyone's thoughts! All the thoughts I hear are my own."

"Yes, Angel," said a sweet voice. We all looked up. Standing at the top of the staircase was the woman who had helped us find Analie. She held the collar of a girl with medium-length dark brown hair and blue eyes, full of fear. The girl looked at me and mouthed one word: _Run._ "Very good." The wall was open behind her, and I saw Mary Lou's kitchen. She slid the wall shut. How did she do that? That was thick plaster!

Mary Lou's eyes narrowed. "You tricked me!"

"That's what I do!" she said. She shoved the girl down the stairs. The girl stumbled and tripped, rolling down them. She scurried up as soon as she hit the metal floor. The woman walked down them easily and grabbed the girl's collar again. "But Max, Angel, Analie, you wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for my daughter here." She glared at the girl.

"Daughter?" I repeated.

"Duh," the woman said. "You saw Petunia **(A/N It's pronounced like the flower, for all of you who are like me and don't know how to spell it)** come out of here earlier today, two-twenty-three to be exact. I couldn't let you go after what you saw. And there was always the option of little Angel here reading your mind!"

"Then why can't I read minds know?" Angel asked. "And where's Fang?"

"There was no point in kidnapping Fang. Max told him nothing, and he has no clue about this room. But you see, Angel, this room is specially made so you can't read the thoughts of anyone in here, or, when your in here, anyone outside. So in this room, you're all virtually powerless, except for your wings."

Petunia's pretty eyes were on me. There was no use in ignoring it. _Help!_she mouthed. I shrugged and looked back at her mother. "But you were so kind when we saw you outside the candy shop - the candy shop! What happened to it? Who are you, anyway?"

She laughed. "I'm Cindy Wynn, of course!"

I was too shocked to say anything. If you don't remember, Cindy Wynn was the reporter who tricked me into admitting I loved Fang. What was she doing here? "But you look nothing like yourself! You can't be Cindy Wynn! You're...an impostor!"

"Hair dye and colored contacts, easy. I don't have eye problems, but people change their eye color all the time. It didn't arouse suspicion. Look." She pulled out a picture of Cindy Wynn as I remembered her. She bent down to be and held the picture to her face. Other then the hair and eyes, it was exact.

My expression didn't change. "So you are Cindy. So what?"

"Cindy Wynn, the Arizona News reporter?" Mary Lou asked. Cindy turned. "I watch you when there's nothing on, no wonder I didn't recognize you."

Cindy's eyes narrowed.

"What about the candy shop? I saw it burned to the ground." I asked.

Cindy sighed. "I planned to do it while Analie was in there." Analie gasped and hugged her mother tightly. "But then you and Fang showed up with her picture. I had to get on your good side, so I told you where she was. Then when you went in, I tried to set it while you were in there. But no, it had to be so slow! It happened minutes after you left!"

"So all those people in there, it was packed shoulder to shoulder! What about them?"

"Dead. Most of the people in there were ememies of mine that I promised revenge on. After I got the bomb set, I locked the doors from the outside right before it caught flames. The fire fighters and police were too slow. They got there before the place was to the ground, but everyone in there had already been burned alive, or had very serious burns and died in the hospital."

I gasped. It was even worse then I thought!

She looked back at Petunia. "You stay here. You messed up for the last time, and you seem to like Max. You're fate will be the same as their's! Won't that be great? For you, no!" Cindy shoved her daughter to the ground and laughed, walking back up the steps and the wall opened without her hitting anything. She stepped out and sealed it.

"Oh, no!" Petunia said. "This is terrible!" She walked over and tore my tape with her teeth and hands, freeing me from the tape. This handcuffs were big, and my hands could slide though them with only about thirty seconds of trying. We freed everyone else. "I'm so sorry, Max!"

"It's okay, Petunia!" I said. "It's not your fault. I'm just still extremely confused." Everyone else agreed.

Petunia sighed and sat on the metal floor. "Well, you know those cameras your friend Bella placed for Mom? Well, some of her friends from the news station were involved, and they reported to her that you and Fang had gone to New York to look for Iggy and Gazzy, so she disguised herself and came down. She didn't disguise me, since you've never met me.

"She found Mary Lou and asked about you and Fang, and she said that she knew where you were and that Fang was her son. She convinced Mary Lou to place cameras around her house" - Mary Lou bust into tears - "and knew of a secret wine cellar that her ancestors had. A few tweaks, and it was ready. She convinced you to stay with her, and it was done."

"Mom found Iggy and Gazzy before you and Fang, and they didn't regnize her. So she was able to kidnap them and hide them down here before Angel came. Of couse, she knew when she arrived. There were cameras outside the house, too. But none in here, I don't think."

Mary Lou sniffled. "None here, that I know."

"She could be lying!" Iggy accused, jumping up and pointed his finger at her.

"Iggy, stop!" I yelled. "Fang will stay when he realizes that we're all missing. All we have to do, escape from here, or let him know we're in here! I have a phone in my backpack, I can call him." I walked over to the backpacks. "Oh, no! Mine isn't here! Only Fang's." I reached down and searched his bag. "And the phone is in mine."

Gazzy groaned. "So what now? Doesn't Mary Lou or Petunia know how to open the wall?" Okay, that sounded weird.

Petunia and Mary Lou grinned at each other. They raced up the steps and waited for the wall. "No use!" Mary Lou called. We all groaned.

"What now?"

"Scream."

We all started screaming and banging on the walls. Is it weird that I realized that Gazzy and Mary Lou quoted Taylor Laughtner on Shark Boy and Lava Girl?

Then I remembered that I had put this journal in Fang's backpack earlier for safekeeping, planning on getting it when I woke up. And it was still in there. So I'm doing this while everyone else is screaming and pounding the wall until their knuckles bleed. Wait - too late. Great. Now they'll be getting blood all over the walls!

-Maximum


	26. June 30, 2010

**Isn't it hard to believe that 2010 is half over? It seems like it should just be beginning! And the summer is over in a month, *sob*. I don't want to end this story!**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**June 30, 2010**

We've come to a conclusion: Screaming does nothing but hurt our ears. Cindy only brings us a loaf of bread and a few juice boxes every three days or so, so we're starving! Mary Lou is getting worse and worse every day, blaming herself for us being stuck in this dungeon.

But today, the wall opened (okay, THAT sounded weird) and Cindy came in with our bread and juice boxes. "Congrats, you have another cellmate." Somehow, that didn't make me feel better. She pulled in a woman by the collar of her shirt, like she did Petunia, and walked down the stairs, the wall closing behind her.

I recognized the woman. MaryEllen McCoy. She shoved MaryEllen to the ground and threw the bread in juice boxes in front of us, but none of us tried to get it like we normally do. "Why are you doing this to us?" I asked.

"I promised myself I'd get revenge on you. And this is how I plan to do it. But your little friend here got in the way of that."

"But you used me!" Mary Lou said. "Why? I thought we were in this together! But you split me and my son!"

"I had to get to Max. But you don't care what happens to Maximum. You only care what happens to your precious Fang, or as you call him, William."

I remembered how she would always check on Fang's safety before she gave a lick of attention to me. I was like background music that didn't fit the movie scene. You're focused on the scene before you ever pay attention to the music.

Mary Lou gasped. "I care for Maximum! How could you say that?"

"Common sense. But the only reason you're in here is because you'd know what happened to Max. And you'd feel bad about 'William' and how unhappy he was, and so you'd take him to her. So I had to get you out of the picture."

"Then let my daughter go!"

Cindy looked at Analie. She was so skinny now you could see her ribs and her cheekbones, like everyone else. She hugged her mother's leg. "I thought that there was always the possibility that she knew something about this room, but looking back, it was a stupid move. Too late now!"

"So you've got us here," I said. "And what exactly do you plan to do with us?"

She smiled greedily. "You'll see, Max. You'll see." She turned and walked out, the wall opening at her touch.

I hate her so much! I shook my head. "MaryEllen, this is Mary Lou." Wow, that was weird to say. "Her daughter Analie, and -"

"Cindy's daughter," MaryEllen finished. "I know. How are you, Petunia?"

"Okay," Petunia said. "But me and Mom will never be the same again."

"MaryEllen," Angel said. "Why are you here? I thought you and Cindy were friends!"

MaryEllen hissed under her breath. "Never. I was the one who first reported on Cindy's prison time. And I took her place. We were friends, before that. See, I knew Cindy had escaped from her cell. I just didn't know where she was. Something told me to come to New York, I know my hunches are usually right. So I came!"

"And Cindy found you?"

"Yep. And threw me in here. So what's happening here?"

Petunia explained what happened while we ate the bread and sipped on juice boxes. All the food had been removed from the backpacks, I guess Cindy thought this was just another book, and probably only saw blank pages in the back. Our packs were almost empty, just thin blankets inside them.

I sat against the metal wall, looking around, thinking back. I remembered Cindy's goons, one with a scar above his right eye, and another with a tattoo of a fire-breathing dragon. I wonder if the police have ever found them. And if Fang had never taken me to that cliff to tell me -

To tell me that he sees the future in his sleep. Did that mean he saw us being kidnapped? He went to sleep right after I saw Petunia and the candy shop. Maybe he saw us kidnapped, or Cindy and Petunia explaining everything. But I had to make sure he did. How?

A few hours later, the wall opened again. Cindy. And she held a DVD player. She walked over to me and put it in my hands. "The cameras record and transfer the data onto DVDs. Here's a little look on Fang." Everyone scrambled over to look over my shoulder as Cindy pressed play.

I saw Fang the morning he woke up on the couch, when we had woke up taped to chairs. Fang sat up and rubbed his eyes. The image flickered to the kitchen, where he walked in and looked around. "Mom?" It flicked to Mary Lou's room, her bed unmade and empty. He opened the door and looked inside. His eyes widened. "Mom? Max? Angel?"

The image flicked to every room in the house, seeing him open the door and call our names. He ran outside and around the house. "Oh, no!" he said. He popped open his wings and took off. Petunia and Mary Lou gasped, since it was the first time they'd seen our wings.

Then the date at the bottom showed it was the next morning. Fang woke up in his guest room and looked around the room. Then he jumped up and slammed his fist into the wall. "Where are you, Max?" he asked, so low I could barely hear him. It changed to him sitting at the kitchen table, a bowl of uneaten cereal in front on him. He sat back with his arms crossed over his chest. "I'll find them," he promised himself. He stood up and grabbed his windbreaker before running out the front door and taking off.

It changed again, and the date at the bottom showed this morning, probably just a few minutes ago. Fang sat in his room, on his bed, his head against the wall. He looked horrible. His hair was uncombed, clothes torn. There was a red scratch under his eye. He slowly opened his eyes, and stared at the ceiling. "Max," he whispered. He blinked again. "Where are you?" He sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed.

It showed him in the kitchen, lazily walking in. There was a pound against the wall, probably were Gazzy was beating the top of the stairs this morning. He ran over and felt up and down the wall, probably looking for rat holes. He stopped at the bottom of the wall, where there was a small hole. "That's what it is," he murmured. "Mice." He banged his head against the wall and the image faded.

Cindy pressed the stop button. "You're precious Fang is looking for you."

My hands balled into fists. I looked over my shoulder and saw Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel getting ready for a fight as well. "Uh oh, looks like you don't have your goons to protect you."

"What do you mean?" She was backing up, and we were stepping forward. She turned and ran up the stairs. We couldn't stop her. The wall opened and she slid through.

But at least I knew Fang wasn't going to give up on me. He was determined to find me. I sat back against the wall and hugged my knees, a smile creeping on my lips. But it immediately faded. Fang isn't that great of an actor. From the way he talked at the end of the video, he didn't know where we were.

So how did all of Fang's visions happen? Maybe...maybe something had to happen for them to appear in his dreams. That was logical, right? When he saw Cindy breaking into Mom's house, with the guns, our family's lives were threatened. When he saw her court hearing, and killed the judge, promising that I would die, my life was threatened...

Maybe one of our lives had to be threatened for him to see. But what about when he saw our interview with MaryEllen? No one's life was threatened, or were they?

"MaryEllen," I called. She looked over her shoulder from her conversation with Mary Lou and walked to me, sitting cross-legged across from me. "No one's life was threatened during our interview, right?" I swallowed, almost scared for her answer.

She frowned. "That's an odd question." She looked to the side. "Actually, yes. Cindy had threatened anyone who dared to get information from you with their life. And, yours as well. She didn't want a brodcast of you without her being responsible for it. You didn't notice how tense I was? I was worried that Cindy was going to bust in at any moment, but I also wanted her to see this. Show her that no one's scared of her."

"Thanks, MaryEllen." I smiled. "I think I know how to save us."

"Okay then. Do it quick, I already smell like a sweat sock." She stood up and walked back to MaryEllen.

All his visions threatened someone's life. And every one of them threatened someone he cared about. And the first time he saw it, when all of us were being threatened, it was stronger. The more of his loved of that were threatened, the stronger the signal was. So if all of us, Mary Lou, Analie, Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, and I were all threatened, he would definitely see it.

But how do I get our lives threatened, without us being killed? Cindy had promised revenge on all of us. Maybe in time, Cindy will try to kill us. Then Fang will see it. Yes. All I had to do was wait, and when we were about to be killed, I could contact Fang.

-Maximum


	27. July 3, 2010

**Haha. I didn't even realize I said Taylor Laughtner in the June 26th entry. I didn't know how to spell his name, didn't feel like looking it up on Google, and I really don't like him that much. I'm prepared for the hanging. LAUGHtner.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**July 3, 2010**

Something bad is about to happen. Just a hunch. Please excuse the sloppy handwriting, I'm having to hold the pencil in my teeth and write. So would that me mouthwriting?

We were all sleeping, on the cold, metal floor, withonly a thin blanket over us. I had to share a blanket with Angel. Mary Lou and Analie shared one, so did Iggy and Gazzy, and MaryEllen got her own. And suddenly, we went from shivering to sweating in half a second. That woke us up. We all threw off the blanket and separated.

But the whole metal room was over one hundred degrees! The metal didn't help, and the fact that we had seven people in the room didn't help. At least it was a big room.

Before long, we'd have a heat stroke. And no one would know about it. Wait - heat stroke! That puts our lives in danger, right? Of course! Maybe this was Fang's dream. There had to be some indication of his dream's presence. He told me in a dream, which is really weird, since...

He said that it would be a tiny blue sliver of light. I looked up and down the walls, hoping to see something. Nothing. Maybe it wasn't real, and his dream was here? I hoped it was.

I slowly bent down and felt the floor, jerking my hand back. It felt like a metal trey left in an oven overnight. **(A/N My grandma and aunt actually did that. We were having lunch with them and my aunt realized she left it a biscuit in overnight when she went to put sweet potato casserole in the oven. It sizzled every time the mitt touched it.)**

"What's happening?" Analie cried. She ran for her mother but Mary Lou moved out of the way.

"Stand still!" Mary Lou insisted. "The closer you are to people, the hotter you are!"

Analie whimpered and moved away from her mother.

Then, as fast as it came, the heat wave left, and ten below zero degrees took it's place. We started shivering so hard a teeth started chattering. We all huddled in the center, but it hardly did anything. This was so unhealthy. Fang's dream had to be here, even if I still couldn't see the sliver of blue light.

The temperature changed back to normal room temperature. I collapsed backward, catching myself on my hands.

"Stop!" Mary Lou cried, pretty much to nothing. "Stop it! You're killing us!" I put my hand on her shoulder and pulled myself up to a sitting position. The wall slid open, and Cindy stepped in, a pistol in her hand. I gasped. I saw a blue sliver of light, more like a mist, right in front of me. My face broke out in a grin. Fang's dream!

I stood up and walked towards Cindy. She frowned at me, but walked down the stairs. When her foot hit the floor, I grabbed the gun and jumped back.

My hands shaking, I slowly pointed the gun to myself. Everyone gasped, started screaming at me. I ignored them. "One more step," I said, "and I shoot."

Cindy grinned and took a step forward. I flicked my wrist and shot, sending her down, clutching her shoulder. "I didn't say at me, Cindy!" I said, laughing. She glared at me, clutching her teeth. Oh, I _love_ loopholes!

"You'll regret that, Maximum!" Cindy hissed. She slowly pulled herself her to feet. She made eye contact with everyone in the room "All of you will pay for her mistake!" She ran back up the stairs and through the wall, cackling.

I still saw the blue, now red, mist. I didn't know what that meant, but I didn't care as long as his dream was still here.

"Why did you do that, Max?" Angel asked, her eyes wide.

I tossed the gun to the floor. "To show her she can't control us. She can lock us in a metal room, but she can't take away our brains, or courage, or mission. She'll never be in control as long as people aren't scared to stand up to that witch. She can't do anything!"

Mary Lou's face was hard as ice. "You wanna bet? You have no clue what this room is capable of!"

"What do you mean?"

Before she could answer, it was as if the whole room shook - an earthquake. We were all thrown to the ground. All we could hear is the sound of water through pipes, like what you hear sometimes when someone from an upstairs bathroom flushes the tolite. It was loud enough to almost bust our eardrumbs, and we could scream at each other and not hear.

The room made one last shake, and our heads slammed against the metal floor, blackout.

I woke up tied to a chair, like when we woke up here. But something was different - the bottoms of my shoes were soaked, I heard the sound of rushing water, like in a bathtub.

Water. Water is all over the floor, seeping in the bottoms of my shoes. Everyone else was awake, looking around with wide eyes, too afraid to speak. Petunia was chewing on her ropes, sometimes stopping from fiber splinters in her tongue. No one else bothered to try.

The water was seeping in from cracks in the ceiling, where the walls met. It was a big room, we must have been out for hours and it wasn't up an inch.

I slowly stood up, still tied to the chair, and slowly walked towards the backpacks. More water seeped in my shoes with every step, making them more uncomfortable with every step. Well, it would take weeks for the room to fill, we still had weeks to live - unless someone doesn't know how to swim.

I got this journal, and put and the pen in my mouth, as I mentioned before. I'm gonna stop now, my jaws are starting to hurt. The water is up to my ankles now, yikes!

-Maximum


	28. July 6, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**July 6, 2010**

Petunia has chewed through her ropes, her tongue packed with splinters, and let the rest of us go. Good timing, too. The water was up to my shoulders, and the only reason Angel and Analie weren't dead was because their so light their chairs float. But the water was about to come over Analie's head.

Fang still hasn't arrived. It's been a week, and I'm starting to worry. What did the change of blue to red mist mean? What if the blue mist was really someone else's dream, or not a dream at all? Or was Fang in it with Cindy? No, I couldn't think about that. He couldn't be.

Angel, Iggy, Gazzy, and I have been flying around the room, hoping to find a weak spot in the ceiling or wall that we could break through. The room was sealed shut, no telling how thick this metal is. So that means that Fang is our only hope. If he doesn't come, we all die!

I don't even know why I'm writing in this, Els. I could just pack it into one big entry if Fang saves us. But if this room is filled, then this journal will be soaked to the point it comes apart. And it's impossible for all these pages, wet and crumbled, to be fit back together.

So that means no one will read this. No one will know how we die. If Fang just wasn't able to get to us and tells everyone his dream, everyone will think he's crazy. They'll put him in the nut house, give him special medicine and therapy he doesn't need. All because everyone refused to believe the truth.

Analie was holding tight to her mother, who was struggling to keep her above water. Analie couldn't swim, I found out, and MaryEllen was trying to teach her while the water was still low enough. If she doesn't learn, then she and her mother will both die, no doubt about it.

The flock has gills. We can survive, to an extent. But we can't forever. We need sleep, food, just like other humans. And everyone else, the true humans, will die.

"Mary Lou!" I called. "You knew this would happen?"

"No!" Mary Lou yelled. "When we upgraded this wine cellar, there were hundreds of ways she could kill us! Fire, storms, earthquakes, many more, and the outside world wouldn't be affected a bit! She didn't tell me about the water, I guess that was her own secret."

"Do you know how to stop it?" Iggy asked.

Mary Lou pursed her lips and shook her head. "Only Cindy knows."

I was flying, looking for weak points in the ceiling. I punched it with everything I had. It didn't even make a dent. I shouldn't have just shot her in the shoulder. I should have made her inches from death, where she couldn't do this. Fang would wake up demand that she open the door, and we'd be free.

But he hasn't come yet. He has to be awake, unless...

It suddenly dawned on me. He would get us if he could, but he couldn't. She must have known he would try to save us. _You'll pay for that, Maximum! You all will!_

If she had that pistol in her possession, she must have had more. She must have seen the mist, knew what it was. That's why he hasn't saved us, he never will.

Cindy murdered Fang.

I dropped like a stone, forgetting to flap my wings. I slammed in the water, my shoulder hitting the floor before my head. I swam back up and pushed the hair out of my eyes, my hand playing furiously with the necklace. I thought I was going to break it.

"C-Cindy!" I stuttered. "Fang! He - she - gun - powpow he go ow - and -"

"Max!" Angel yelled. "Stop! Catch your breath!"

I took a few deep breaths. I couldn't say it. I couldn't tell them Cindy killed Fang. I couldn't tell myself, or his mother, sister. "He..." I blacked out.

I woke up being carried by Iggy. The water was pretty high now, and Analie was swimming in it, laughing because of MaryEllen. She's five, if only she knew how much danger we were in.

The water is almost up to my shoulders now, and over Angel and Analie's heads, and if they want a break they have to have Iggy or Mary Lou hold them. It's almost over Gazzy's. Here's where it gets pretty tough.

-Maximum


	29. July 8, 2010

**Now, dare I ask how many of you have Facebooks?**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**July 8, 2010**

Fang was dead. I knew it. And I was going to kill Cindy.

Angel and Analie can't latch on to anyone now, we're all swimming. Analie's so tired she can hardly move her arms, and is too nervous to float on her back. Every time she starts to sink, she uses up more and more extra energy to make sure she's above water. We should get snorkels. Snorkels so long we can be on the floor and still breath.

The water was well above the door, about five feet above it, which is probably why Cindy hasn't shown herself. We're all inches from death, especially Analie. Every time Mary Lou or MaryEllen tries to help her, they start to sink as well.

We weren't going to live until the room filled up. We would die from being so tired, in just a few more hours.

"Max, help..." Analie sighed, struggling to stay above water. Too bad she didn't have gills.

Gills. Maybe I could find a way to open the door. "Sorry, Analie. I gotta go. I might be able to get us all out of here." I remembered I said that same thing to MaryEllen. Maybe the room was full of microphones, that wouldn't be anything new to us. And on the cliff - how do I know she hadn't put microphones there? She could know everything.

I swam down to the door, or to the top of the stairs. There was no way to tell where the door was, it blended in with the rest of it. How could it not leave a trace - anything? I saw nothing. My fingers grazed the wall, where I remember the door being. Nothing. Only metal and the water between. At least I was under water, no one saw the Great Max cry.

But what was I crying for? The fact that everyone I loved was about to die? The fact that I could only trust my flock, because Mary Lou betray us? MaryEllen wasn't a part in it. Or was she? Or the fact Fang was dead, before I could say...

That I love him?

The word _forever_ on the necklace was clutched in my fist. Fang died because of his mother's actions. Because Mary Lou was dumb enough to trust Cindy. If it wasn't for Mary Lou, we wouldn't be in here. Iggy and Gazzy would never have been kidnapped. We would have all been back in Mesa, living with Mom and Ella.

My fury was now at Mary Lou. Fang's own mother killed him! Before I knew what I was doing, I was out of the water, flying above Mary Lou, feeling pain and hate, shot straight at her. It slipped out. "You killed your own son!"

Mary Lou's eyes widened. She stopped swimming in shock and went under for a moment. "What? I didn't kill William!"

"Why do you think he hasn't saved us? Because he's dead! We're going to die, too! All because of you! Because you were stupid enough to believe Cindy!"

"What do you mean? I didn't kill him! I didn't lock us in this room!"

I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her under, dragging her to the floor of the room. She scrambled to get to the surface, to get to air, but I held her down. Angel swam beside me and started tugging on my arm, begging me to let her go. I hardly knew she was there.

Mary Lou didn't have gills. She would die. She was already fighting less and less. I moved aside and she kicked to the surface, gasping in deep breaths of air. We were all going to die, and I didn't want to die a murderer.

But I would never trust Mary Lou again. I bursed through the surface, and I saw it out of the cornor of my eye. Blue mist.

My heart lept for joy. Of course! It hadn't been intentional, but I had called Fang's dream. One of his loved one's life was in danger, his mother was in danger of drowning. I'd trigered his dream again, when I thought I never would. Fang was alive. He just hadn't come for us.

Then why were we still here? Was he...one of them? No. He couldn't be.

It was a merical we weren't already dead. All of us. I didn't realize the water had shut off. There was no sound, now it was like a big swimming pool you could never escape from. I just moved my arms and stared at the wall for who knows how long, probably ten or twenty minutes.

Iggy tapped my shoulder and pointed to the other wall. My head whipped around. The water had sunk down to the top stair, and Mary Lou's kitchen was soaked. Probably her whole house. Someone had opened the door. Fang?

I swam to the door, everyone else behind me. The door didn't make a move to shut, just stood wide open. My feet hit the floor and I collapsed, everyone falling around me. Slowly my vision blurred, and I blacked out.

I woke up on the couch, covered by a cotton blanket and a pillow from the guest room bed. Fang's backpack, with this journal, was sitting beside me. My arms and legs were sore, trobbing whenever I moved them. My head hurt, that I didn't know why.

Where were everyone? Now I know how Fang felt. All I could do was take this out and write in it.

I'm not going to freak out. Did Fang freak out? ...Yes. And it didn't help. They're probably all knocked out like I was.

-Maximum


	30. July 11, 2010

**FACEBOOK QUESTIOIN ANSWER!**

**As it turns out, several of you have Facebooks. So I have created a Gmail account and another Facebook, with parental permission, for my reviewers on Fanfiction. My online Facebook name is Grace Moses (cover-up name, DO NOT call me Grace!) And email: fnick(dot)fwilliam at gmail(dot) com. Please include FF username and what stories of mine you have reviewed.**

**You guys were right. Not finished. Sorry! Dad borrowed my computer, and I thought I had it saved, I didn't.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**July 11, 2010**

I woke up on the sofa, covered with the blanket, with Fang's backpack beside me. A piece of paper was taped to the handle. I pulled it off and read it.

_Max,_

_I'm so happy you're okay. I'm sorry it took so long, Cindy refused to open the door to the cellar. I would have killed her right then, but apparently no one else could actually open it. Right after, she ran off, and I lost her. Everyone's fine, in other beds of the house. I'm out hunting for Cindy. I'll be back before dinner. If not... well, I will._

_Fang._

_P.S. We're out of milk. XD Seriously, we are._

Great. No milk. Well, Iggy can get his precious milk this time, I'm sick of milk. Milk can go crawl in a hole.

But sure enough, I made a round trip through the house, and everyone in the cellar was in a bed, asleep. I stopped at the room I shared with Analie, where she and Mary Lou were sleeping, and there was my backpack. With the iPhone. With Mom's number.

I snuck in the room and unzipped the backpack and pulled out the phone, and slowly made my way to Mom's contact. I stopped less then a cenimeter from pressing Mom's call number. Should I worry her more? No. But she should know we found Iggy and Gazzy. I called her.

"Max?" she asked when she picked up the phone. "Are you okay? I haven't heard from you in weeks! You wouldn't pick up the phone!"

"Sorry Mom. I got a little... caught up. Anyway, we found Iggy and Gazzy."

"It's about time! What's been happening? Anything I should be concered about?"

_Yes,_ I thought. "No, nothing. We just ran into some old friends." That wasn't a total lie.

"Stop lying, Max. Fang told me everything about the cellar. And everyone in it. And it's something I should be concered about.

I'll kill 'im! "Stop worrying, Mom. We're all fine. Everyone's out."

"Well, when are you guys coming back? You're making me sick, Max! I'm having headaches all the time!"

My breath caught in my throat. "Sorry! We'll be back in a few weeks." I couldn't tell Mom about us killing Cindy. We can, and will, find and kill Cindy in a month's time. "We'll be back in a month at the most. I promise, Mom. We will this time. Mary Lou and Analie want to stay a little longer. No biggie."

"Okay, but only a month. Nudge wants to talk to Angel."

"Angel's still asleep. But I'll pass on the message."

"All right, well, I've gotta go. Love you, Max. Bye."

"Bye." I hung up and slid the phone back. Mary Lou and Analie were still asleep in the bed. Then, I noticed something. I kneeled down beside be bed for a better look. My heart lept to my throat. Analie's face was pale, her lips white. I saw that once before, on the news. I slowly reached up and felt her hand. Ice cold. I bent down and lisened to her heartbeat. _Thud... thud..._ Nothing. Tears fell on my cheeks.

I ran up to the room where Angel was sleeping. She was a healthy color, breathing normally. The swim must have been too much for Analie's little body.

What was I supposed to tell Fang? That his little sister died? And Mary Lou, she would wake up to it. Well, luckily Fang hasn't come back yet.

-Maximum


	31. July 17, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**July 17, 2010**

When Fang came in, I had to hold back tears. I'd have to tell him Analie died. The look on his face told me he hadn't found Cindy. Well, I'm sure he won't stop looking after I tell him. His eyes lit up when he saw me on the couch. "Max! I -" He caught my look. "What?"

"Analie," I crocked. A sob escaped. I covered my mouth.

"Yeah, Analie's in her room. Fine just like everyone else."

I shook my head. "No. She's not fine. She - she - Mary Lou's gonna have a heart attack."

Fang frowned. "Analie..." He walked down the hall for the room. I tried to stop him, but it was hopeless. His stride was too long, and I couldn't talk if I wanted to. I just followed him. He burst into the room. I followed him in and watched as he kneeled down the bed. Analie was still white, her chest still.

"She's -" I couldn't finish the sentence.

He took his little sister's hand, cringing a little from how cold she was at first. He took a deep breath.

"Fang, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. I didn't come fast enough."

"It was Cindy! You tried to come, Fang. That's all you could do. Cindy wouldn't let you in. It's not your fault, either."

He shook his head and turned around, walking out of the room. Mary Lou stirred and sat up, rubbing her eyes. I cleared my throat. Her head whipped around.

"So you didn't kill your son. You killed your daughter." I turned and walked out of the room, closing the door. I heard Mary Lou's scream from inside, she saw it. I did what I had to do, grit my teeth and walk away. Mary Lou was just another murderer, just another Cindy.

Fang sat on the couch, his face in his hands, his elbows on his knees. "Is Angel alright?"

"She's fine. Everyone else is fine."

"Good." He sighed. "When Iggy and Gazzy wake up, we'll all go and find Cindy."

"What about your mother?"

"I heard everything in my dream. Before you knew about the blue light that was my dream, it was there when Cindy and Petunia explained everything to you. Mom should have known better." He shook his head again. "It's all her fault Analie's dead."

I looked him straight in the eye. "It's more my fault then it is hers. She didn't know what was going to happen when she helped Cindy. I shot Cindy, knowing the consequences would be possible death. I should be blamed more than Mary Lou."

"Don't say that! You expected me to save you before a life was lost. I wonder if the door would still open with a dead Cindy..."

"Fang, I thought you were dead. I thought that was what that red light was and -"

"Red light? What are you talking about?"

"When I shot Cindy. The light changed from blue to red. I thought it meant you were killed in your sleep or something. Or maybe it just meant your dream was ending or something like that."

"My dream's light is blue. It's never turned red before, and this one wasn't any different."

So the red light had nothing to do with Fang's dream. Then what did it mean?

-Maximum


	32. July 24, 2010

**You might notice that this chapter is much like one in my other story, The Girl Next Door. It's modeled from that. And after today, I'll be gone the whole week. I'll update as soon as I can after that.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**July 24, 2010**

We haven't found Cindy. We've come close, but she's too fast, and most of us are still too weak from the cellar...incident. But I'm not here to write about that. I'm here to write about probably one of the most emotional funerals I've ever been to. Make that one of the only funerals I've ever been too.

The girls wore simple spaghettistrap black silk dresses, while the boys wore regular black and white tuxedos. Analie's funeral was at a church, with a huge white cross above the baptistery. The coffin laid under the cross, closed-lid when we got there. Mary Lou broke down into tears immediately.

"Max, remember, it's not your fault," Fang whispered in my ear. I unclenched my fists I didn't even know were balled up. We sat on the first row, watching as the last preparations were made and friends, from babies to elderly, filled the pews. Most were women and kindergarten age kids, probably Mary Lou and Analie's friends.

Even some of the children were crying, asking if Analie was okay. Mary Lou just started crying harder and said, "Yes, she's home." The kids put on a smile and ran off, thinking it was Mary Lou's home. I even started to cry.

Fang clenched his jaw as the coffin was opened, and parents and kids started coming up to take one last look at the girl. Their eyes were red, tear tracks down their cheeks, holding Kleenexes in their fists. I had to stand up and leave as I saw Mary Lou bend down and cry over her daughter's body.

I don't care what Fang says. I had a part in this.

Fang walked out after me. Not to follow me, just for his own sanity. He walked past me and sat at a table, taking deep breaths.

"I will officially be known as the guy who walked out on his sister's funeral," he muttered.

"You weren't the only one who walked out," I said. "And you'll be known as the guy who cared enough about his little sister he couldn't stand to see her body in a coffin. Even after a few months." It was a long shot, but he calmed down a bit.

He bit his cheek. "Mom's torn to shreads. I should have killed Cindy when I found her before."

"No, you shouldn't have. The door may not have opened if she was dead. Then we would have all died."

"Maybe." He stood up and made his way down the stairs. I made no move to follow him. I sat down in the chair and leaned back, using a napkin to wipe away a few tears. Me, Maximum Ride, _crying._ I couldn't believe it either. After about ten minutes, I stood up and walked back in the auditorium, taking a seat in the back beside a young woman trying to keep tears from her eyes.

_Amazing__ Grace_ was sung, and the preacher of the church preached about Analie, and what an amazing girl she was. Mary Lou was sitting on the front row, I could even hear her cries. Fang came in and sat beside Mary Lou. She was crying in his shoulder.

Pretty much everyone in the auditorium was crying. I was trying so hard not to cry I could hardly pay attention to the funeral. I was relieved when it was over, and after everyone came up and hugged the family, we went home, hoping to get some peace. It was a quiet ride home, just the sound of the car gliding along the road.

Needless to say, I hope that never happens agian.

Or will it?

-Maximum


	33. August 1, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**August 1, 2010**

For once the fact that this is pocket-sized came in handy. I've got to hurry. He could be back at any minute. I'll just start at the beginning. After breakfast today, everyone went to look for Cindy. Or everyone with wings. MaryLou went out to go shopping. I was to stay at home in case she showed up here. Only a few minutes after everyone was gone, I heard pounding on the door. My first thought was Cindy.

So I got up from the table, and opened the door. There, grinning down at me, was my half-brother Ari. He had five of his friends behind him...Erasers? No, all the Erasers were gone. But they weren't morphed. And they had pretty cocky smiles on their faces to just be regular men.

"Hello, sis," Ari laughed. Before I could even open my mouth, I was struck on my head and collapsed to the ground. My vision blurred, and I looked up to see six Erasers with their fists ready to punch. My eyesight slowly turned black.

I woke up thrown over the table. I saw the six Erasers, in human form, in a group talking in a corner. Were they really Erasers, or did I just dream that?

"Good, you're awake," Ari laughed. The other five turned to look at me.

"What do you want from me?" I whispered. I would have yelled it, but my mouth was dry and it burned to talk.

_"They_ don't want anything from you," said an overly peppy voice. _"I do!"_I was hardly able to turn my head. But I saw Bella out of the corner of my eye. She had her back rested on the open doorfram, her arms crossed. "They were just happy to do the dirty work."

I frowned. "What? Explain!"

Bella shrugged. "You busted me for the cameras. I wanted revenge. You brother was happy to help."

"Ari? I trusted you! I let you into the flock! Why?"

Ari laughed. "She paid me! Twenty dollars for getting my friends to help, twenty dollars for getting into your house, twenty dollars to kidnap you. And twenty dollars to kill you."

Huh. Apparently money obsession runs on Jeb's side of the family. But no one could pay me enough to betray my family!

Wow, this was well thought out. Of course I'd be in shock from seeing Ari. Erasers are fast, they could knock me out fast. My whole body felt broken, I can't fight well, especilly if I have to take on six by myself. I'm an idiot! I should have attacked as soon as I opened the door.

But my hands weren't broken, or my right arm. Ari grabbed me, almost making me cry out in pain, and carried me to the counter. One of them found a pen and paper, while another brought out a gun. "Tell them you're on Cindy's trail!" Ari hissed. I tried to hit him with my good arm, but one of them grabbed it and broke my shoulder and elbow, while the gun fired above my head.

I felt a blow in my stomach, making me cry out as my rib broke worse. The pen was placed in my hand. They didn't notice how I made some letters bold.

_Sorry, **l**eft to go **a**fter Cindy. **S**aw her ou**t** the **w**indow **ri**gh**t** af**te**r you left. I do**n**'t know where she's going, but I shouldn't be gone **pa**st supper. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I've** g**ot to follow h**e**r, like I **s**aid. Max._

I felt another pain in my stomach. "Hurry up!" Ari hissed. I forced myself not to grin. All they had to do was put the bold letters together, **_last written pages._**

"I'm done! I'm done!" I said. I was thrown into a chair, gritting my teeth in pain.

"We'll be back in a few minutes," Ari growled. Bella grinned and led the Erasers through the hall.

I thought ahead. There was a pen on the table. I had this in my pocket. This really hurts right now! So for the rest of my plan: they will come back. And they said they would kidnap me, I'll be leaving. I'll drop this on the floor in front of the counter, with the note. I don't know what will happen.

Please, if you catch on, HELP!

-Maximum


	34. August 7, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**August 7, 2010**

This thing is actually very intersting to go back and read. Now I really don't blame her so much...

So back to the point. It was actually very hard to get Max's message, it was well-played out. How would she have known to do that? Anyway, we walked in (me, Ig, Gazzy, and Angel), tired from our long (and unsuccesful) Cindy Search, and I was the first one to see the notebook.

"Max found Cindy!" I said, showing them the message. I sat it back on the counter and collapsed on the sofa. Max was good, she'd get Cindy. Finally I can get my revenge Analie deserves to have against her...

I watched as Ig's finger brushed her note, not thinking very much of it. But he froze, slowly running his fingers over it. "Guys, some of these letters are deeper then the others. Are some a little darker?" Angel picked it up from under Iggy's hand.

"Yeah! They are! But I can't tell what all the letters are..."

He grabbed it back from Angel and ran his fingers over it again. By this time I was fully focused and leaning against the counter beside Gazzy. "Fang, get something to write on." I opened the drawer and took out another pad and pen. I drew scribbles to get it to work.

"Okay, the letters are... l-a-s-t-w-r-i-t-t-e-n-p-a-g-e-s. What does that spell?"

I was still leaned over it. I drew lines to seperate the words as I realized what they were. "What does she mean by 'last written pages'?" I asked.

"Look!" Angel bent down and picked up a little brown pocket-sized book. "Maybe this is it!" She opened it up as we all crowded around.

_**Journal NOT a Diary!**_

_**Max's Journal **_

_**Feb. 24, 2010**_

_I know this a TOTALLY out of character, but Ella made me do it. She's gone to France with her friend for the rest of the school year, then to cheer camp this summer. She's paying me $100 to write in this ever few days in this unused JOURNAL of hers. She's already given me $20 before she left. She'll give me the other (What, $80? I've never been good in math) When she gets back if I keep this up. I have a feeling she'll be reading this against my will. I guess I'm s sucker for money. I'm talking to Ella whenever I say 'you' by the way._

"Max has a journal?" I asked. Angel was already flipping through the pages. She suddently stopped, the page on the left had writing. The page on the right didn't. She flipped to the beginning of the entry and started reading aloud.

"Ari!" Gazzy said when she sat down the journal. He made a fist and punched the table, making it wobble.

My face was red. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted Ari. I told her it was a bad idea. We let him know all the flock secrets and he betray us for Bella's money!"

"It's probably counterfit anyway," Angel said. "But she didn't have a clue where she was going when she wrote this. She could be anywhere."

"No she couldn't," Ig said. He was sitting on the floor, holding a slip of paper. He gave it to Gazzy. "What does it say?"

"It's a note. _Get the girl, follow me to 8th street._ What's that supposed to mean?"

I froze. "8th street. That's where the candy shop was wear we found Analie when she ran off. The one Cindy burned to the ground."

"Do you think it's Cindy?" Iggy asked. We all looked down at him. "It's a possibility! Cindy was resposible for everything else that's happened to us. And she was with Bella. Who's to say they both aren't behind Max's attack? Like Bella has any money."

"Iggy's right!" Angel said. "Cindy _has_ to be behind it! Even if she isn't, someone else is. And they want Ari and Bella to go to 8th street. We have to find out."

"But what if Cindy isn't behind it?" I asked. "Some of us need to stay here in case she shows up. We can't just leave Mary Lou to handle her."

Gazzy nodded. "Okay. Since Fang is the only one who knows where it is, he'll go find Max. Iggy can go with him. Angel and I will stay with Mary Lou. Does that satisfy everyone?"

I looked at Iggy and nodded. "Yeah. We'll find Max and bring her back here, after we kick some Eraser butt. And if you guys see Cindy, get her. But save the last blow for me." Gazzy and Angel nodded. A wave a fury came over me, aiming at Cindy. I'd give her punishment for what she did to Analie. I pushed it aside.

Well, I have a feeling Iggy and I will have a long journey ahead.

-Fang


	35. August 13, 2010

**I'd like to think WinterSky101 for giving me the idea. Even though she yelled it out in the review! *sigh* Anyway, thanks Winter.**

**IMPORTANT!**

**Alright, if you scroll down enough, you'll see two entries. One is Fang's one is Max's. Max was able slip a few pieces of paper in her pocket before they took her. That's why there are two of the same entry.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**August 13, 2010**

I've come to a conclusion:

Iggy's an idiot.

Iggy got us locked in a damp prision cell. It has nothing to do with him being blind, don't think that. Well, maybe it does a little, but I warned him that guy looked like an Eraser. He shouldn't have blabbed. All right, I'll start from the beginning. No sign of the ruined candy shop was at 8th street. No ashes, nothing. There was even a brand new hotel building there.

I stared up at it. I carefully stepped in the hotel, pulling Ig behind me. This place had forty stories, at least. How would we find Max in here?

"Hello, I'm - " Then I caught sight of the man behind the counter. Eraser. He was rven in worlf form! I tapped the back of Iggy's hand. "Oh, sorry, wrong hotel!" I really didn't want to get noticed. I slowly started backing away from the counter, Iggy right beside me.

"You will not be going anywhere," it said. Its lips pulled back, reveling rows of fangs. Two Erasers grabbed me, each taking a hand and holding it behind my back, covering my mouth.

I couldn't get out, no matter how hard I tried. Iggy was being kidnapped, too. The Eraser behind the counter lept over it, landing right in front of me. "Foolish boy! Do you really think we would be stupid enough to lead you right to us?"

No. We were stupid for believing they would. Max, if you ever get to read this, I'm so sorry.

"You won't take us alive!" Iggy yelled.** (Iggy had an Auburn-Redx moment.)** He aimed a kick at his capter, but only managed to make him mad.

The Eraser growled. "Forget the hotel room! Being them to the dungon!"

I glared at Iggy. "Dungon?"

Next thing I know, we're in a dark, dirty cell with steel walls, no windows. Iggy's passing the time by reciting really bad poems, like thy do in those weird movies. It's really starting to get on my nerves. I'm going to stop writing before I have to record blood.

-Fang

**August 13, 2010**

Fortunetly, I also had paper in my pocket. It gives me _something_ to do. I'm back in the School, which had been rebuilt by those nerds the whitecoats. I've been experimented on. My bones are no longer broken, fixed by those monsters here. But while I gained something, I lost something else.

My wings.

Yes, my wings are no longer there. I have no dobt that Ari will come through with his word to kill me.

I don't know, but I think they're trying to make me half cat hybrid. And cats kill birds, so... They're trying to make me kill myself.

-Maximum


	36. August 17, 2010

**Please read my story Darkness. It's the first Gazzy fic I've seen! A lot of you guessed at I was going to do in this story. How...?**

**And if you want to know who Auburn-Redx is, she left a comment for the last chapter.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**August 17, 2010**

I'm ready to go insane. Iggy keeps singing Ms. Mary Mac. If I have to here about elephants not coming back till July 4th one more time, some blood is going to be shead.

There is NOTHING to DO in here! I'm about to go insane.

I don't even know why I'm writing in this. I'm just using up Max's pages.

It's like a prison cell. Just like it. Maybe even worse. Two wood boards chained to a wall, where you actually have to climb to get up. Like, standing on my tip toes I can just only lay my hand flat on the board. So if you roll too far in your sleep and fall off, you go splat, and break a few bones. Iggy fell off, but woke up and extended his wings to save him.

We only get two meals a day here. Lunch and dinner. And the meals? Chicken soup. Not even anything to drink, the juice is our liquid.

Our days are filled with nothing more then trying to come up with plans to get out of here. After Iggy got us thrown in this DUNGEON, he might have actually proved himself letting us escape. That is, if Ari hadn't come in. With four of his Eraser friends, all morphed. Two of them had handcuffs.

It reminded me of you're visit, Ella, when you put all that makeup on Max and had to handcuff her to show us. Ah, good times.

But unlike you, they weren't careful putting them on. They just threw our hands back and tossed them on, not caring that it pinched our skin.

"Come with me," Ari said. His friends pushed us forward. They morphed into human form as they walked in the street and shoved us in a black van that the freaky spy/stalkers drive in those weird movies. Ari was in the front seat, his friends in the back with us. He's seven, why do they let him drive?

"Where are we going?" Iggy asked. I shot him a 'don't open your big mouth again' glare.

Ari smiled at us through the mirror. "A place your quite familiar with, actually. I think you call it...the School?"

I gasped. "That place was dystroyed!"

"It was, but my father lead an effort to rebuild it. You actually did us a favor, it's much better than it was before. You'll enjoy this, the dog crates are a size larger."

A few hours and a plane ride later, and we were back in the dog crates. It looked just like it use to, with the same science lab smell that brought back horrible memories.

I don't know what they plan to do here, and I'd afraid to find out.

-Fang

**August 17, 2010**

I was wrong.

They aren't trying to kill me with cat hybrid. But what are they trying to do? I have no more bird hybrid, I'm 45% cat and 55% human** (don't question my math.)** I'm the size of a human, with cat ears and face, white and yellow fur that makes me look like a tabby. But I still have a human brain, hands, and feet.

I suddently have a strange cravinng for liver and fish.

I hate fish.** (A/N I don't, but if Max was well-fed I'm sure she'd hate fish.)**

Too bad I don't have cat claws, that'd be good in fighting. I'd be out of here.

My days are filled with training courses, both for a human and a cat. I can hardly fit in the cat courses. But I've overheard the whitecoats. They said something about 'birdkids.'

-Maximum


	37. August 22, 2010

**REALLY FUNNY AND HUMILIATING! Sorry, I just wanted to point this out. I was doing sit-ups in my room with no one holding my feet, and I did 39. So I laid down a minute to catch my breath. I'm not fat, I only weigh 116 at 13, and that was with my tennis shoes on. But when I tried to do a 40th one, I couldn't do it! I couldn't get my shoulders a foot off the ground! Well, I finally did it after about ten tries, but lets just say I'm not gonna mention that to my PE teacher...**

**But anyway, any tips for me?**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**August 22, 2010**

Our first few days were stuck in the dog crates. No room to spread our wings, and we had to stay curled in a ball in them. Ari said they got bigger dog cages, but it feels...smaller. I never noticed how small I probably was when I was in these last.

But today, one of the whitecoats opened the door to my cage and pulled me out. I didn't bother to try and escape, they would only follow. He put a hard hand on my back and pushed me forward. I walked beside him as he made his way into the hall.

"I want you to see this," he said. "Just what we can do." I walked beside him as we went out the door and through the hall. I slowly looked through one of the doors. A tall cat hybrid was working on fighting skills, taking out four whitecoats at once. It looked right at me with big brown cat eyes. Wow, it sure did look familiar. No, I couldn't know it. I hadn't been here in years.

We walked through double doors, where rows and rows of cages were displayed. Hybrids of every animal you can think of. The room was full of squawks and barks and every sound an animal or human could make. They were all cries of misery and pain. I locked my jaw, but the whitecoat didn't seem affected.

One zebra hybrid looked at me with huge brown eyes, pleading me to save her. She reached his tiny hand through the bar toward me, but the whitecoat kicked her back.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked.

"I told you!" the whitecoat spat. "To show you just what we can do. What we can do to you and your friend in you don't cooperate.

"No, I mean why are we back here? In California?"

He grinned evilly. "You will see, Fang. You will see."

I kept my eyes closed through the rest of the tour. I'd seen enough. Seeing all these new hybrids being operated on brought back horrible memories that I thought, or hoped, that I had forgotten. After the tour I was thrown into my cage next to Ig. I told him everything I saw.

Wow, that cat hybrid sure did look familiar.

-Fang

**August 22, 2010**

Training courses. Fighting courses. That's how I spend my day, when I'm not locked in a dog cage. Like I need anymore fighting courses!

But here's the thing...

I saw Fang.

I had been in fighting training, taking them all down effortlessly, when my eyes lingered to the doorway. Fang was walking with a whitecoat down the hall. But he only frowned at me and walked on. Did he know it was me? What would he have done if he did?

But the big question: What was he doing here?

Maybe they found my message and got captured along the way. Ugh, great, now I feel guilty. Like I had gotten them captured.

Had I?

-Maximum


	38. August 26, 2010

**Alright, this chapter may make some people mad. All of you will love the next one, no matter who your favorite character is. =)**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**August 26, 2010**

I feel... alone. Betrayed. Heartbroken. And even terrified.

Iggy's sitting in his dog cage, slowly dying, torn to shreds. Why? Max. And I was forced to watch it all. But it's hard to even call that monster Max. It wasn't Max. I felt the real Max. In pain, hurting from being forced to kill her brother. Max would never do that, I know that.

Remember when I looked in that door and saw a familiar...thing? Cat hybrid? Yeah, that was Max. Her bird DNA was replaced with cat, even some of her human DNA is cat. But I had to sit behind the glass doorway, tied to a chair and held by whitecoats, and Max tore Iggy to pieces.

Like I said, it wasn't Max. She was trying to overcome the cat part of her, the part that wanted to kill the bird. You could see that monster fighting itself, Max vs. Cat. But the cat hybrid won. As she attacked Iggy, you could see Max fighting it, trying to pull away, trying to stop it.

I have a feeling I'm next.

I can't even look at Iggy anymore. He's a bloody mess. Literally. I'm not trying to talk Britain. He's actually covered in blood.

"Help me," he whispers, slowly stretching a blood-covered hand out of his cage. Not just to me, to anyone. I wish I could do something.

Maybe the whitecoats won't dystroy it after I'm killed by Max. Maybe someone will... I don't know... save it. Publish it. I actually think that might be a good idea know, for everyone to know the truth. My life is full of maybes, it's really annoying. Maybe (see?) your life is full of maybes. Multilply it to ten and you might get close.

-Fang

**August 26, 2010**

Kill me. Someone. Slowly. Give me the pain Iggy's feeling. I... attacked him. Fang was watching it all. The hardest part wasn't trying not to kill Iggy, even though that was hard by itself. The hardest part was watching the pain in Fang's eyes. The heartache, dissappointment and he turned away.

Now I know what their doing. Making me kill myself, but not through cat/bird hybrid. They're trying to make me kill my flock, make me all alone. So I'll break down and just... die. The easy way to get rid of us. And it's working, that's what scares me the most.

I wish they were the ones with the bird hybrid. I would so LOVE to kill them.

Wait.

That gives me an idea.

Oo, this is gonna be good!

-Maximum


	39. August 27, 2010

**This will be a long chapter. Brace yourself.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**August 27, 2010**

Everything's fine. Iggy's going to survive. Max is fine. I'm fine. We'll be leaving to pick up our things in New York in a couple of hours.

I'll start at the beginning:

After I finished the last entry, I went to sleep. Only to be rudely awaken by a whitecoat opening my cage and Ari hauling me out by my arms. I grumbled and opened my eyes. Ari, in Eraser form, snickered, showing rows of yellowing fangs. "I think you have your last date with your girlfriend," he laughed.

I jumped up at the mention of Max. Then, I remembered what they had done to her. What they had made her do to Iggy. How she was being forced to sing and dance on Broadway. I wish!

Don't judge my logic.

But back to the point. After remembering what had happened just a few hours ago, I realized what was ahead of me. Max was about to be forced to kill me. But if I was dead, how could I be writing this? And how would my first line be true? The only reason Max isn't writing this entry was because she wanted to see my side of the story.

So I was pulled my Ari into the room where I first saw Max training. It was set up just like when she went up against Iggy, nothing in the room, not even a padded floor. But Iggy wouldn't be watching me. No, he was still dying in his dog crate.

I wasn't even there for thirty seconds when cat-attack showed up. A deep-throated growl escaped, smelling bird. But the expression on her face was horrified.

As the cat part of her tried to stalk forward to attack me, the Max part tried to back up out of the room. But the cat half was winning, and Max's feet had to slowly and painfully move forward to keep from dropping on all fours, giving the cat access to whatever she wanted.

"Max, stop!" I yelled. Max had to jump forward to keep from falling. "This isn't you, quit!" I jumped in the air and spread my wings to keep from getting slashed. She jumped and caught my foot before I could reach the roof. I kicked her in the face, giving Max silent apologies.

The cat just growled and attached the hard claws through my sneaker. I tried to use my other foot to kick off my shoe, but she started to scratch both of my legs. Pain seared up them, and I dropped like a stone to the floor. The Max half of this thing jumped back as far as she could from me, begging the other half to stop.

"Stop it, Max! You killed your brother! You killed him!"

Max froze, her eyes widening. The cat half growled and tried to advance towards me, but Max stood rooted to the spot.

"Fang!" a little voice yelled. My head whipped around. I saw Angel, Gazzy, Mary Lou, and Nudge standing at the doorway. Angel was slowly mind controlling whitecoats into the room. "Get out of there! Quick!" She turned her focus back to the whitecoats. They were trying to fight back, but were losing terribly. It was actually pathetic.

I tried to stand, but fell again. Max had gotten my legs good. Blood was pouring through the tears in my pants. I grabbed at the ground, trying to pull myself out of the room. Mary Lou glanced at Max nervously, but ran out and grabbed my hand, pulling me out.

Angel closed the door and locked it, letting Max have free rain over the vulnerable whitecoats. I had to turn away as both Max and the cat ran forward to kill them all at ths spot.

"How - how did you know where we were?" I gasped.

"Max send Jeb to get Nudge and Dr. M," Angel said. " And they got us. Dr. M and Jeb are tending to Iggy. He's gonna be fine."

I heard screaming inside the room where Max was killing the whitecoats. It sent shivers down my spine.

Nudge bent down and slowly rolled up my pant legs. I tried not to scream at her. My legs were stinging so bad I couldn't feel anything else. My leg was covered in blood, nothing but blood. It looked like my skin had just been dyed a bright red.

"Ew!" she screeched, jumping up and wiping the blood on her hands on her shirt. "Fang, that's gross!"

"You shouldn't have messed with my pants!"

"Ew!" she and Angel screeched again, running down the hall for the bathroom. Gazzy and Mary Lou took each side of me and helped me down the hall, where Dr. M was tending to Iggy. Jeb instructed me to sit in a waiting chair, another good whitecoat cleaned up my wounds. She smiled at me as I tried not to kick her through a wall.**(I kept imagining Fang with ghost white legs and torn blue jeans and brown leather boots. Cause some boys at school wear that and are always the ones to flash their leg hair. *shiver*)**

After about fifteen more minutes, Max was brought in, held back by Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel. But it wasn't enough, the cat part of her still tried to kill them. Angel had to mind control her. Jeb tried to calm Max down as he led her through big double doors to the operating room.

Iggy was wrapped up in bandages and was put of laughing gas to knock him out to preform surgery. After the whitecoat that tended to me took Iggy, Dr. M sent the younger kids out of the room. Oh, no. Here it comes. But she wrapped up my legs and bandages and spoke softly.

"At least you won't have to have surgery." She stood up and put her hands on her hips, looking me straight in the eyes with daggers. "Fang, what were you thinking? Why didn't you tell me about Max? I could have helped you, and the outcome would have been much better then this."

I averted my eyes. "I didn't want you to worry. I knew Max didn't want you to worry. But if I had any clue this was going to happen, I would have called you."

"All I can say is, I'm disappointed, Fang. I thought I could trust you better then this. Do you know how scared I was when Jeb showed up at my doorstep and said that Max was half cat and Iggy was dying? I had a heart attack! I was terrified! And when I called Max's iPhone, and Mary Lou picked up saying you and Iggy had gone to save Max, my heart stopped."

"I'm sorry, Dr. M. I should have told you."

"Yes you should." She leaned down and hugged me, landing a kiss on my forehead. "Thank you, Fang. You saved all of your lives today."

With that, she turned and walked out.

-Fang

**August 27, 2010**

I was no longer cat. I had no fur, or claws, and I didn't want to kill every bird I saw. I have my wings back, and my bird DNA.

I owe a million thanks to Fang. He's actually writing in my journal now. At least I get to read some of their adventure. But he's read what I've wrote. That means he knows how I feel about him. Joy. But onward with the point:

When I walked in the training room, I saw Fang. I growled without realizing it, my cat DNA starting to kick in. It was trying to overwhelm me, trying to pull me forward. I tried to back up, but the cat won. I was being pulled towards him, to kill him.

"Max, stop!" he screamed. I had to jump forward. "This isn't you, quit!" He jumped up, spreading his wings and tried to fly to the ceiling. I jumped and grabbed his foot before he could make it, or, the cat did. He kicked me in the face, and I growled again, my nose stinging as the claws sank into his shoe.

Before he could kick his shoe off, I scratched his leg, the cat getting control again. His leg was bloody and we were back on the ground before I knew what was even happening. I forced myself to jump backwards, off Fang, and felt like I was splitting in two as the cat tried to leap back.

"Stop it, Max!" Fang yelled. "You killed your brother! You killed him!"

I froze. Iggy was dead? I didn't even realize the cat half of me was still trying to attack me.

"Fang!" Angel yelled. Finally. I won't have to kill Fang. Whitecoats were slowly filing in as Angel mind controlled them. "Get out of there! Quick!"

Fang tried to walk, but his legs were skint up too bad. He tried to pull himself out with his arms. Mary Lou ran out and grabbed him, pulling him out of the room. As the whitecoats progressed in the room, Angel closed and locked the door. I growled. Me, Max growled, not the cat.

Terror spread across thier faces. They had created me. They knew what I could do. They screamed as I launched myself at them, killing them.

I won't tell you all the bloody details. It was really gross.

After the whitecoats were dead, Angel unlocked the door. The cat tried to attack them, but as I jumped for them, Angel mind controlled me and sent me falling to the ground. Gazzy and Nudge grabbed me as Angel mind controlled me down the hall.

Cat me snapped at them and growled, trying to bite them. I saw Iggy being tended to by Mom, Fang's leg wounds being cleaned by a female whitecoat. Jeb came over to me, put his arm around my shoulders, and led me through two double doors.

He laid me down on an operating table. "Jeb," I whispered. "Why am I a monster?"

"We'll get you fixed, Max," he promised, putting liquid in a syringe. "We'll get you fixed."

I was put under by the syringe, and when I woke up, I had my wings back. The cat DNA was gone, and Fang, Iggy, Angel, Gazzy, Mary Lou, and I were on our way to New York.

-Maximum


	40. September 4, 2010

**Guys, this story is going to end soon. I'm in my second month of school, and you've probably noticed I've been updating later. I have nine stories going, I'm serious. I can't keep nine stories going for much longer. A lot of them will have to end. Especially with Pre-Algebra getting harder and harder. As much as I hate it - school has to come first.**

**But there will be FAX at the end!**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**September 4, 2010**

I'M BACK, BABY!

With bird DNA, and the flock is the together again, we're back in Mesa. And no one is going anywhere.

As for Iggy, he's okay. Still a few scars and broken bones, but he's healing fast. We've been home for over a week. Mom has been pounding us with questions - she's read the last several entries, about our New York trip. So this is the only time I have to update.

So you're probably wondering about after the cat half attacked Fang. All he had was a few bruises and a limp, that's healed now. So, while we were on the plane...

I sat back and leaned my head back on the padding. It would take days to fly from California to New York, and we wanted to get there and back as soon as possible. And, with my newly... re-attacked wings, which would take weeks to fully adjust back, it was just painful. I'd hold us back days. Iggy was going to Mesa with Mom, Nudge, and Angel.

As soon as we were safely in the air, I felt someone plop down beside me. I opened an eye a tad. Fang was fastening his seat belt. After a few moments of silence, he spoke. "Max, I don't blame you. No one does. It wasn't you choice to become a cat and try to kill us."

Great pep talk, Fang.

I tried to say 'Thanks' but it came out 'Fakes.'

"Something wrong?"

Actually, I had been dreading this meeting since this whole thing started. "Just tired," I lied. "Being a cat can take a lot out of you."

He blinked. "Right. Well, tell me when you're ready to talk." He shot me a half smile and popped in his earbuds. But he made no move to move back to his seat with Angel. Sighing, I laid back and closed my eyes, involuntarily falling to sleep.

I was woken up by Fang. I was laying my head on something - a hard pillow. I openened my eyes and saw I was laying on Fang's shoulder. I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

It was just me, Fang, Angel, and Mary Lou. Gazzy was helping to take care of Iggy, as was Nudge.

Five hours later we were back in our house at Mesa. Fang and I had stayed as far away from each other as possible.

**_Max,_** Angel said, **_you know you love him._**

_I tried to kill him!_

_**No, the cat did. But he loves you! Remember? You two were a couple before Cindy kidnapped us!**_

She was right. We were a couple. Now... I let Cindy tear us apart. Was that her plan from the beginning? To pull us together and tear us apart? She always had it out for us.

Wait.

Cindy.

Is.

Still.

Alive.

We were kidnapped before we killed her. She's still out there, probably trying to exploit some other poor couple that fell for her traps.

I've got to find her. I've got to kill her. But first, I have to do something. Something possibly more dangerous and scary then even meeting Cindy's minions. I've got to... talk to Fang. Could I wait another month? Yes. Will I wait another month, or possibly until he grows a beard? No.

Well, here goes nothin.

-Maximum


	41. September 11, 2010

**This is a short chapter. It's just a fill in. As you've probably seen (if you haven't, I recommend an emergency visit to your eye doctor) I have changed my name to FantasyAddict97-10. Just call me FA. I felt like maxrideaddict lemited me to only Maximum Ride fanfiction. So now I've written a Hunger Games one-shot! Please check it out!**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**September 11, 2010**

I pounded my fist on Fang's door. "Fang!" I yelled. "We need to talk."

The door slowly slid open on it's hinges. Fang stood there, his face blank and emotionless. I let myself in, slowly sinking down on the foot of his bed. He rolled his eyes, closed the door, and sat beside me. "Well? Let it out."

"Well, I ..." I hadn't really planned what I was going to say. "I was thinking. Cindy's still alive."

It might have been a trick of the light, but I thought I saw a bead of sweat on his forehead. It vanished as quickly as it appeared. But he didn't say anything, just waited on me.

"Say something. Anything? What, are we just supposed to let Cindy run around New York?"

He shrugged. "She's out of our hair now."

"That doesn't mean she'll strike again! Blow up another candy shop or something. So someone else will be tormented just like we were. And you promised me we'd kill her. Don't lie to me, Fang. We have to kill her, or someone else will end up exactly like we were. No one deserves to go through that."

"What are we supposed to do then? Fly back to New York and risk our lives again?"

I shook my head. "I heard that she's returning to Arizona News."

"We can't kill her on national TV."

"We aren't! Don't you watch those CSI shows Gazzy always has playing? We wait until she's out of the building. Then we go for the attack."

Fang took a minute to process this. "All right. Happy to be a bird again?"

"Duh. Being a cat is brutal."

Fang chuckled. "Well, I'm happy you're not a cat anymore." He leaned down and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips before standing up and walking out of the room.

Deja vu, anyone?** (A/N it wouldn't let me do those little ' things above the e and the a. I'm sad now)**

As days passed, I kept my eyes on the Arizona News station for Cindy's return. All I gathered was that Cindy's leg was injured in New York, so the flight back to Arizona was rough. And she asked for recovery days, which, of course, was granted to her. I bet she's faking it.

Fang and I determined that we would attack on Cindy's first day back. According to the news station, she'll be back on the 15th. Four more days.

-Maximum


	42. September 16, 2010

**This is a short chapter. It's just a fill in. As you've probably seen (if you haven't, I recommend an emergency visit to your eye doctor) I have changed my name to FantasyAddict97-10. Just call me FA. I felt like maxrideaddict lemited me to only Maximum Ride fanfiction. So now I've written a Hunger Games one-shot! Please check it out!**

**Good news! March 18 entry is back!**

**This is a very short chapter. Like I said, it's close to the end...**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**September 16, 2010**

I swallowed as I looked at the back door of the Arizona News. Cindy was giving her last broadcast of the day. She would be walking out this door in less then five minutes. I glanced at the trees where Fang was hiden. He gave me a wink and moved to a tree closer to the door.

Slowly, the door opens.

Cindy is there, yes, but she's not alone. There are two men and navy uniforms with her - security guards. They all meet my eyes immediatly.

How could she know I was here? Was our house bugged again? It very well could be. No one was home when I was being changed back into a bird. And our lock is old fashioned, it's not hard to pick. I tried it out once when we first arrived at Mom's house. Anything can open the lock. Paperclips. Nail files. Wires. Screwdrivers. Even sewing needles.

And it wouldn't be that hard for Cindy to sneak here with no one knowing. Or, maybe she has another spy. I don't know why they would agree to work with her. I wouldn't. It wasn't that hard to land Bella in jail. Who says I can't do it again?

Hardly five seconds pass before the security guards reach to pull something out of their belts.

I open my mouth to scream, but it's too late.

Fang makes a run for me, but it's too late.

Before we could do anything, the guards shot us.


	43. September 26, 2010

**I like this chapter. Fax**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**September 26, 2010**

I woke up in cold sweats. I was shivering, a sering pain in my side. My vision was blurred - I didn't know where I was.

Instead of getting better, my vision just got worse. My pulse quickened, as I thought back to my time at the School. Was I back. I carefully stretched out my hand. A rail of a bed. Beds at the School didn't have rails. They didn't care if you fell off and hit your head or not. I lowered my hand and felt buttons. I pressed one for a test. The bed slowly moved into a sitting position.

"Max! What are you doing?" a voice asked. Angel. "Don't mess with that if you can't see!"

She jerked my hand away. Not a minute later I heard her calling for a nurse. Nurse. Whitecoats.

I sat up straight, ignoring the fire in my side. "No, Angel!"

She put her hands on my shoulders and slowly lowered me back to my pillow. "You're not at the School, Max. It's a hospital. The nurse is helping you get well. I trust her." My muscles slowly loosened, and I laid my head on the pillow. "That guard just missed vital organs. He got Fang's leg."

Fang. He was safe. "What about Cindy?"

I heard Angel smirk. "I followed you. I knew you would need help. Lucky Iggy came with me, huh? We took the guns from the security guards and shot them and Cindy. She was pronounced dead at the scene. But we sure did earn a spot on Arizona News."

Finally. Fate worked on our side. For once. We've finally been cut a little slack.

"How long was I out?" I rubbed my head as if to prove my point.

Angel shrugged. "About a week. Or ten days."

"Ten days!" I bolted up, crying out from my side.

I heard the door open and a tray roll in. I tensed. Angel's hand on my shoulder calmed me. I slowly listened as Angel explained my sudden 'blind' state to the nurse. I felt a needle be poked in my arm, and Angel held me down from punching the nurse.

Second after it came out, my vision slowly cleared. I saw the nurse roll back out of the room. "Where's Fang?" I asked.

Angel pulled back a green curtain separating two patient beds. Fang lay there, his dark hair in his eyes, sleep. His head was turned towards me. One leg was in the cover and another out, covered in a white gauze. He looked so peaceful. But I knew that was only a mask, pain behind it. Years of several broken bones and blood had formed that mask.

"He stopped that bullet from killing you, Max," Angel said. I saw tears in her eyes. "It would have hit your chest if he hadn't have pushed you away. It hit your side instead and a second one hit him in the leg. The guard took a random shot before Iggy and I killed him. It hit his shoulder, inches from his heart."

_Just enough to save his life,_ I thought.

"Yes," Angel said. "And if it hadn't have hit his shoulder, it would have hit your stomach."

"...Why?" I asked, looking at Angel.

She had a hurt expression. "Because he's in love with you, Max! You're his life! You can't see that?" A tear ran down her face as she turned and walked out.

What could have gotten her so upset?

I hate it when she cries. I stood up, ignoring the pain in my side that brought tears to my eyes, and walked towards the door. I would have made it, too, if a hand hadn't caught my wrist. Immediatly I looked down. Fang slowly turned his head and opened his eyes, flinching from pain in his side but not loosening his grip. "Max, what are you doing?"

I swallowed so hard it hurt my throat. "Angel..."

"Are you trying to hurt yourself even more? Get back in bed, Max."

Glancing at the door, I turned around and sank back on my bed. This was much harder then I thought. "Thanks for saving me."

Fang didn't look up. "Anytime."

"You shouldn't have done it. You should have let that bullet kill me."

This time he looked up. "What? Why?"

"Because of our lives. How they've been since we were born. A game. Surprises. Random. And it always will be."

"True. But every time that's happened, we've had each other. Always will."

I looked up, surprised. I was happy when a doctor came in to take Fang to a test, because I had no earthly idea what I'd say next. The doctor shot me a smile as he tended to Fang and helped move him to another bed. I laid my head against the cold wall. What could have upset Angel so much?

Here comes a nurse, so I better put this down. I promise the next entry will be when I talk to Angel.

-Maximum


	44. October 2, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**October 2, 2010**

Mom came in to visit, pulling in Angel. Fang was awake, too. I hadn't told him about Angel's 'Breakdown', I didn't want him to worry about it when it was probably nothing. Then again, Angel did know some freaky stuff. She met my eye - it told me it wasn't just nothing.

"Never scare me like that again," she said, kissing both of us on the forehead. "I was reading my book when I got a phone call saying my kids were critically injured in a shooting! You about gave me a heart attack! I can't imigine what you were thinking! How could you honestly think you could kill her alone?"

"Sorry," I said. "But cindy's dead! Aren't you happy about that?"

Mom opened her mouth, but Angel beat her to it.

"Iggy and I couldn't have done it without them. They distracted the guards long enough for us to kill them."

"That isn't the point!" Mom yelled. "You should have told me!"

"You would have said no," I said, trying (and failing) to remain calm.

"Oh, and wouldn't that have been a shame considering how well everything went!"

I can't remember the last time I'd seen my mom so mad. I don't think Mom has ever been this mad at me before.

"Mom, we're all alive. Cindy's dead. We won't do it again. Can't we just be happy about that?"

Yeah. I can be deep.

Mom softened a little bit. "I suppose I should be happy that you are okay." A little smile formed on her lips. "As long as you won't do it again. I'm not happy about the fact that you went behind my back, but I'm proud of you." She hugged Angel and kissed mine and Fang's foreheads again before walking towards the door.

Angel started to follow her. "Angel, come back," I said. Angel froze and turned around, stalking back towards me. "What was that all about yesterday?"

She bit her lip. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do. You're reading my mind."

She slowly lifted her head to look at Fang. His eyes widened and he shook his head. "No, Angel. We would never -"

"Yes you would!" Angel yelled. She buried her face in her hands again. "You would! Both of you have said so!"

I shot Fang a questioning glance, but he didn't return an answer. I reached out my hand and pulled Angel's away from her face. "Angel, what is it? I'm clueless."

"You - you and Fang - you said that -" She took a deep breath. "You were going to leave us, for good! You were going to leave us with Iggy! And you weren't going to come back. I read Fang's mind. He, he saw it. You guys were going to run away when you got out of the hospital and leave us."

"Really?" I asked, looking at Fang. I forgot all about his new power. But he could only see when someone's life was in danger...

He nodded. "Yeah. I saw it in the woods yesterday right before the guard shot you. That's how I reached you. But when we left... Dr. M would die."

I gasped. "How?"

"She would have commited suicide. She would have been so heartbroken that she would have hung herself in her closet."

Fear shot through me like a lightning bolt. Fang's visions always come true.

I don't know what happened next, maybe I passed out. When I woke up, everyone was gone, even Fang. I was alone in the hospital room. I'm shaking as I write this.

-Maximum


	45. October 13, 2010

**I'm sooooo sorry for not updating. I've had some health issues with close friends, see 4010: Duel to the Death for details.**

**This chapter will probably be the most graphic. If you don't like to visually imigine blood, death, torture, pain, or murder scenes, (then why did you read MR?) I suggest skipping this chapter. You have been warned.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**October 13, 2010**

I woke up to a scream. Despite my side, I bolted up and threw off the thick cover. Blinking, I looked around the hospital room. No one was there but Fang sleeping in the bed beside me. "Fang!" I whispered. He didn't move. "Fang! Fang!" His eyebrows raised and he slowly opened his eyes as a ear-drum-busting scream pierced the air.

Fang jumped up, shooting me a glance, and we ran out the door. Outside, the hall was empty. Doctor's carts had been abandoned, there was even a sheet on the floor with blood on it. That's another thing, blood was everywhere. It sent a shiver up my back.

Another scream rang in our ears. "That way!" I yelled, but my voice was drowned out by the scream. We ran (The best we could with our injuries) down the hall towards the waiting room. The first thing I saw was a nurse being held to the wall, a gun held to her head. She screamed once again as the assassin pulled the trigger. Blood poured down her cheek as her body slid to the floor.

I almost didn't want to look at the of the waiting room, but I did. There were bodies everywhere, some's eyes were opened, some closed. All of them were covered in blood, just adding to the bone-chilling room with blood covering the walls.

It was almost like he was whispering something:

_"Leave, leave, you must leave, I will not stop until you leave, Hilary."_

...Who's Hilary? Why did he have such a grude against her?

I didn't have much time to think about it, because he turned to us. Fang grabbed my hand and we ran down the hall. I knew we weren't fast enough to escape bullets, we were slow anyway from our injuries. And the hall was too narrow to spread our wings...

As we rounded the cornor, a bullet shattered a little window on one of the doors. The wall at the end of the hall was glass, with an awning-looking thing on the other side of it. It couldn't be _that_ strong, just strong enough little kids couldn't bust it by trying to catch the attention of a friend on the concrete.

We ran in zig-zags, something Jeb taught us to do when we're targeted flying. It seemed to just work well enough, bullet's grazed past our heads and arms. We hit the glass full force, just enough pressure to break it enough for us to free-fall towards the busy freeway. Our wings whipped out and we slowed like a parachute, slowly going higher.

"What happened to the flock?" I asked, looking back at the hospital, my breathing deep. "How could all that happen without us being woken up?"

Fang sighed. "We must have had strong medication. We'll have to come back when... whoever that is is gone."

Another question was buring in my mind: Someone had to have called the police, if the wires were cut, they could always use cell phones. Why hadn't the police shown up?

I was pulled from my train of thought by wind whistling in my ears. I wasn't freefalling, I was diving towards the ground, unaware I had fallen. There was something on the yellow dotted line between the lanes of traffic... it looked like a doll.

Landing carefully, sqeezing myself between the lanes as cars honked at me, I bent down and picked it up. Fang was screaming at me from in the air, and pictures were being snapped everywhere you turned. I didn't care, the only thing on my mind was that it was a little white teddy bear with a halo above his head...

"Fang?" I said, just loud enough he could hear me above the traffic. I didn't realize I was crying until a tear fell of the bear's dirty dress. "It's Celeste."

Angel has been here.

-Maximum


	46. October 16, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**October 16, 2010**

I've been calling and calling on the iPhone Mom gave me until the full battery went dead (Apparently, that doesn't take many), with no answer. Or even a voice mail. Either Mom or Ella lost their phones, or something happened to them. I kept hoping it was the first one.

"No use?" Fang asked, looking up at me. He was sitting under a tree, iPod earphones plugging his ears. (I bet that iPod was about to go dead, too. Wow, Apple needs to invent a way to preserve battery.) He seemed a lot more chilled then me, considering all our loved ones were probably dead.

I sighed and tossed the phone in his backpack. "Nope. Mom and Ella never let their phones die, but I didn't even get a 'This person has not set a voicemail' in that stupid flat female's voice." Suddenly a thought hit me. "Fang, you said that we were going to leave and Mom was going to die. You didn't see why, did you?"

"I saw parts of it. But when we left, all the flock was watching us go." He paused, frowning. "They didn't _look_ tired or beat up. My visions always come true."

"There's a first time for everything. And hopefully this is it." I sat beside him against the tree trunk.

He sighed and pulled out the earphones. "All we can do is look for them. Either we'll find them, or they'll find us."

"You know, no one is probably at that hospital except a clean-up crew." His head turned and he met my eyes. I knew we were both thinking the same thing:_ If they died, they would be in the hospital._ Unless their bodies were moved, and then they would be trying to figure out who it was. They wouldn't mind us checking.

Not twenty minutes later, we were back in the air, flying the hospital. I was secretly wishing I could turn around and fly the other way.

Yeah, I might be this big, tough girl, but when it comes to my flock, I'm a wimpy ballet dancer.

Cop cars surrounded the building with yellow DO NOT CROSS tape around the perimeter of the building. Ambulances sat outside for anyone lucky enough to survive the shooting, even if they had critical wounds. Family members and friends stood around, talking to medics and police, or watching the building through tears. Airlift helicopters flew around the top of the building, ready to touch down at a seconds notice. There were already bodies being pulled from the building.

We touched down in the woods and walked into the parking lot, pushing threw crowds of people. I stopped in front of an officer.

"We, um, escaped," I told him. We had changed out of those horrid hospital gowns as soon as we could. "I think some of our family was in the hospital during the shooting."

He frowned, but nodded. He pulled out a clip board and took out a pen. "Were they patients?"

"No, they were visiting us. I don't know if they got out or not, we weren't going to stick around to check."

He nodded and flipped the paper on the clipboard. It was covered in names. "What are their names, and what were they wearing?"

"Um, my mom is Dr. Martinez," I waited as he scribbled on his clipboard. "She had on a blue V-neck T-shirt and blue jeans. She has brown hair and brown eyes." He scribbled my words on his notes. "Angel was wearing a pink John Deere shirt and green capri pants. She has curly blond hair and pretty eyes, age seven."

"Is that all?"

"No," Fang said. "We don't know what the others were wearing. Iggy probably has -"

I drowned out his voice. I was focusing on a girl that was being pulled into an ambulance on a stretcher. She had mocha skin and frizzy brown hair. Her necklace had been pulled to the side of her neck, the silver covered in red blood, that was a silver chain with a _N_ between two flowers...

I knew the necklace. Nudge had begged for it last time we were in WalMart, and lets just say I... got a discount price.

My feet were moving while I was thinking, and I was beside the ambulance before I even finished my flashback. "I think I know her," I whispered to the paramedic, stopping the door from closing and pushing past him. He didn't object when I jumped into the back of the ambulance.

"Max," she whispered when I came into view. Her long, slender, blood-covered fingers reached for me. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it as I keeled beside her.

"Nudge, I'll be here," I said, sitting in the floor. I wasn't planning to move anytime soon. I would ride in the ambulance as she rode from one hospital to another. Her grip didn't loosen. "Do you know what happened to the others?"

"Angel escaped," she said. "He shot me before I could follow her. Dr. M and Ella are with her. I don't know what happened to Iggy and Gazzy... Is Fang with you?"

I nodded, praying that Angel, Mom, and Ella got away. I thought about finding Celeste in the middle of the road. She couldn't have been flying in Mom and Ella were with her, she wouldn't have been strong enough to lift both of them. Ha, she's not even strong enough to fly with Ella.

"Max?" Fang stepped on the back of the ambulance and pulled himself up. "The police is looking for the others. You found Nudge..."

Her eyes lifted to meet his. "Don't leave, Fang!"

"I won't," he said. He looked at me. "The police chief will call us if they think they found the flock."

The doors banged to a shut behind us and a paramedic stepped up and started fiddling with equipment. How do they know what all that stuff does?

Two hours later we got to a hospital across town. Nudge was taken to the emergency section as Fang and I waited for the chief's call. My heart pumped as I thought about Mom and Ella. They always answered their phones, but they didn't today...

-Maximum


	47. October 21, 2010

**I'm sorry, I was distracted by watching 'How to do an American accent' to see if they got it right, because apparently an American 'expert' messed up the British accent. Actually, I'm insulted and offended with almost every video. They think all teenage American girls are snobby Miss-America-Wannabees. UGH!**

**Anyway, see if you can figure out who the 'Scar Dude' is! He's been mentioned before!**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**October 21, 2010**

The chief called about two hours after we got to the new hospital Nudge was in, thinking they found Iggy. Fang left to see if it was him or not, but that's a tiny detail in this entry. The main thing I'm talking about is my dream I had the first night in the new hospital.

I was sleeping on the chair beside Nudge's bed, Fang was on the other side. Now, do you remember what I thought that the shooter was muttering under his breath?

_"Leave, leave, you must leave. I will not stop until you leave, Hilary."_

All I can do is hope he didn't say Hilary. Ha! After my dream, I have no doubt he said Hilary. I haven't told Fang about my dream, I still don't think it's real.

_I was standing in the middle of a paved road. It didn't curve - just went straight as far as I could see. There was no trees or grass on either side of the road, or houses, and the nothingness beside the road streched for... I guess forever. Every five feet of the road old early 1900s lamp posts stood on both sides. Apparently they didn't work, because it was night and they weren't lit._

_What was I doing? What if a car came? I tried to walk to the side of the road, but my feet wouldn't move. Well, I guess they might, but there were like hundred pound cender blocks. I tried to open my wings, but there weren't there. I mean, I still had my bird hybrid in me, my wings were just gone. Oops, too late._

_I heard the car before I saw it. It was a car, a silver Volvo, but it sounded like an eighteen-wheeler. I tried with all my strength to move, but I couldn't. The headlights glared in my eyes, so harsh I had to turn my head to keep from being blinded. If that wasn't terrifying enough, a cackle split through the air._

_"Leave, leave, you must leave. I will not stop until you leave, Hilary."_

_I knew where I heard it immediately. The man that killed everyone in the hospital. The dark voice kept repeating, "Leave, leave, you must leave. I will not stop until you leave, Hilary," over and over until there was no doubt he said Hilary. I shielded my eyes to look at the drivers seat, not missing a chance to see who the killer was._

_But the driver's seat was empty._

_The cackle split through again, almost like it was mocking me. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out._

_Suddenly I was standing on a wooden dock. Dark water, which I'm sure would have been blue in the light, stretched on like the road. And a rocky shore to both sides._

_"Hilary!" said the same dark voice behind me, making me jump. I slowly turned around. I saw the right side of his face. He had dark hair and a thick scar over his eye. That guy looked familier. _

_"Yes?" a familier female voice asked. I waited to see if someone would come out of the nothingness, but no one did._

_"Where are you?" said the Scar Dude._

_"On the dock."_

_I looked around me, no one was there. Scar Dud, turned towards me. His dark eyes met mine and I could almost see the blaze in his eyes. Wait - was I Hilary?_

_"Hilary, the rest of your flock is safe. The girls are camping in the woods beside the hospital I hit. The boys will be found and will survive. But tomorrow you will hear about a plane blowing up, supposedly from a faulty engine." With that, Scar Dude turned and walked into the nothingness._

I practially jumped awake. Yeah, it's creepy, I know. But apparently I'm Hilary, and the Scar Dude won't stop killing hundreds of people until Fang and I leave.

Which means Fang's vision would come true.

Which means Mom would kill herself.

So... would Mom committing suicide be better then thousands of people dying?

-Maximum


	48. October 29, 2010

**Sorry it's short. I promise I'll have a longer chapter next time.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**October 29, 2010**

I told Fang about my dream. Usually he had the warnings and the rest of us have the normal dream-dreams (that, if you think about it, could very well be put in the dream-dream category), but I had a feeling that this was a warning. Somehow, I was Hilary. I already knew my born name was nothing close to Hilary. There was no way I could be a 'Hilary.'

Could there?

Now that I think about this, I was supposed to end this when school started. Hasn't school be in for a month (close to two), two months for some (close to three)? This journal is in overtime. Wait - did I actually just say a journal was in overtime? Wow, I'm such a dork. That was totally off-subject. I'm sorry.

"So, where was the guy with a fire-breathing dragon on his arm?" Fang asked. We had already figured out where I had seen Scar Dude. He'd been one of Cindy's goons when they broke in our house. **(See chap 14) **I always thought they would come back for me. But for _me,_ not my flock.

"I really don't know," I muttered. I glanced up at the bed next to Nudge's, where Iggy was sleeping. His cheek was bruised and he was shot in the shoulder, a big knot on the side of his head his the Scar Dude must have hit him with the butt of the gun, to hurt him but not kill him. "I really don't know anything."

"We'll find them," Fang said. He waited until I looked up at him before he said, "Trust me."

I nodded, but my eyes drifted back to Iggy's bed. He looked so cold... so helpless...

They were airlifting Gazzy. He was found in the building, covered in dead bodies and left to die. He had a seriously low blood count, most lost through a head wound on his forehead that just grazed it, but broke skin. He also had a bad side wound. Some Red Cross blood was being given to him.

So, other then Angel, Mom, and Ella, everyone was back together. Or, they will be once Gazzy arrives. I'm going to go look for them when I finish this entry.

So far, the dream was right. My flock survived. When Angel arrives, we'll be all back together and well. And -

I looked up and saw the TV was on a basketball game. Suddenly it went black and the CNN's 'Breaking News' warning flashed the screen. Images of explosions at an airport and people running around screaming flashed the screen. Then it showed a newswoman in the studio reading off last-minute Que cards.

_'We have just been reported of a bombing at Philadelphia and Chicago airport only minutes ago. It isn't known who is responsible for every plane's explosion, but we will notify you when information is available. It has been reported that every bombed plane was fully borded, resulting in thousands of deaths and millions of confused onlookers. Thank you for your time, and be on the lookout for any suspisiouds activity. If you have any clues as to who's responsible, please tell Crime Stoppers at 1-800-STOP,'** (Don't call that, I think it's the real Crime Stoppers number, but I'm not sure.)**_

And yet another part of the dream that came true. The bombing of an airport. And if I don't leave, he won't stop. If I don't leave... where?

"He's traveling fast," Fang mumbled.

"He must have helpers," I said, tearing my eyes from the TV. "Philly and Chicago are over 700 miles apart. He couldn't have set off both. Do you think... do you think the guy with the fire-breathing dragon was his partner?"

I remembered how Dragon Guy didn't shoot me when he realized I would take the bullet willingly and I wasn't resisting. He wants people to be scared of him. If no one knew he was working with Scar Dude and was a partner in the threat, why would he have done it? No one could be afraid of him if they didn't know.

"I think he's nuts. Both of them are. Who says they wouldn't pull off something so stupid?"

I still stood by my reason that he wanted people to fear him.

A grin peeled my face. "The police arrested them when they broke in our house. They have a police record. I know how to identify them, and the police would have their names."

"So..." Fang said, kicking the tiles on the floor. "What's you plan?"

"You stay here in case Nudge or Iggy wakes up, or when Gazzy gets here. I'll go back to Mesa and see if I can find the names of Scar Dude of Dragon Guy." If we could fine out their names, would that even help? There was a possiblity they could have changed their names when they turned on us for killing Cindy.

Well, it's worth a try.

-Maximum


	49. November 8, 2010

**This chapter reminded me of Mary Winkler (the woman who killed her husband, who was a preacher, two years ago). This chapter is pretty bad, sorry. I just really need to wrap this story up pretty quick. And I know I said I would have a longer chapter but I had writer's block.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**November 8, 2010**

The next time I go back to Mesa, I'm bringing a shotgun.

Everything _looked _normal, but you know what they say, looks can be deceiving. Stores open, people and cars all over the street, kids going to school, normal rush hour. So I didn't think anything about walking around the streets of the city, blending in with all the other pedestrians. But, knowing my life, _nothing is ever normal._

Alright, major foreshadowing there (If you didn't catch it, call your doctor immediately. You might have the life-threaten disease called Stupiditis. Especially if you can't pronounce _Stupiditis.)_. So the walk from the woods to the police office was normal, of course. The trouble happened when I got inside the office.

"Hello, just a moment," said the young woman behind the counter, typing furiously on her keyboard. It looked like she was the only one in the office, but weren't there always police officers on duty? In case of a midnight robbery or whatever?

I stepped up to her desk, laid my elbows on the counter, and silently tapped my foot as she finished her letter (which, sadly, the computer screen was pointed away from me). She kept typing until a timer on her desk dinged, making her jump.

She whispered some words I couldn't hear. "Stupid little doohickey. I'm about to rip the batteries out of this thing." She smiled up at me. "How may I help you?"

"I'm Maximum Ride, Dr. V -"

"You're one of Dr. Martinez's daughters! Ride... you must have been the long-lost daughter!"

Well, looks like Mom bragged on me. "Yes, I am. And I -"

"I heard about your whole bit with Cindy. I want to let you know that I'm on your side completely." She looked around and motioned for me to come closer. "Cindy has always been a... strange one. Been in here about two times for drinking and driving charges, and one when she supposedly killed her husband. But she was called innocent on that one."

So, this isn't the first time Cindy went wack. Is that really surprising.

"Yeah," she continued, 'well -'

BOOM!

The whole building shook as bombs continued to go off. Screams pierced the air, and glass shattered. I couldn't look outside, but I could hear from the screams of people being burned alive what had happened. Scar Dude and Dragon Guy attacked my Mom's town.

I didn't care that I was in front of this woman, or about all the terror going on outside. There was nothing I could do about it. I spread my wings and flew through the window (without the glass, of course. I'm not an idiot). Mom was on the other side of the city.

"Max!" Mom yelled, running down the lawn as I landed. "I m -"

A bomb exploded under her feet.

-Maximum


	50. November 16, 2010

**Remember - Max is writing this to Ella!**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**November 16, 2010**

My life flashed before my eyes as soon as the bomb went off. It was enough power to send me flying. I caught myself with my wings and landed in the woods, but I can't say I caught Mom. I didn't even see her. Her yard was destroyed and her house seriously damaged and on fire, but I really didn't care. I cared more about Mom then starting a forest fire. (Wow, where have I gone lately?).

After half an hour of searching, I didn't find her. Leaves of a tree were brushing towards the flames, and I knew there was only a matter of time before all the woods of Mesa were in flames.

Wow, remind you of anyone?

Being forced to retreat, I notified the fire department and flew back to the hospital where most of my flock was waiting. What would I tell Fang? That Scar Dude and Dragon Guy set off bombs all around Mesa? There was no proof of that. It could have been terrorists. Or maybe the FBI turned against us. (Wow, if all of America exploded, it'd seriously mess up my week's plans.)

Fang was silent for a minute after I told him. "Max, we need to leave. Go to Asia or something."

"Your vision said we'd leave," I reminded him. "And Mom would commit suicide."

"There's no way she could survive a bomb exploding under her." He paused and glanced at the floor, where Nudge and Iggy's beds would have been if they hadn't been taken off for tests. "Didn't that man say he wouldn't stop destroying America if we didn't leave?"

"He sure knows how to hold a grudge. He said Kelsey, that doesn't mean us. There could have been other successful bird hybrids."

Fang sighed. "No, Max. There were other hybrids, but they were all destroyed years ago. And none of them had the name Kelsey."

"That doesn't mean there couldn't have been another hybrid in those years."

"Maybe it _is _someone else." He adverted his eyes and laid back in his chair. "I've just got a feeling that it's..." His eyelids fluttered as he glanced around the room. Slowly he drifted into a deep sleep, like that person in that story -

Wow, I've GOT to stop watching Disney movies.

It took me a while to fall asleep. Thoughts clouded my mind... of Mom... and you and Angel...

Suddenly I sat straight up. "Fang!" I yelled, shaking his knee. He shivered and glared at me through tired eyes.

"What now?" he asked.

"Remember what Nudge said? Ella and Angel were with Mom! I found her in Mesa, they must be there, too!"

His eyelids flew open and he said up, wide awake. "Max, you didn't hear anything from Angel. And you said all of Mesa blew up, they couldn't have survived."

"Angel might not have been listening for me! And - and - Mesa is a big city. They could have been separated from Mom. They might have gone into another city where bombs weren't planted. It'd be super hard for those men to blow up all of Arizona right after those airport explosions in Chicago and Phillie."

"Maybe," he said, scratching his head, "they had helpers. If Cindy was manipulative enough to get all those poor people in that candy shop in New York, she could have taught them. The could be just as - if not more - manipulative. It wouldn't be that hard for them to get more slaves."

I thought about how I didn't care if I started a forest fire in the Mesa woods, that I just wanted to save Mom. I was not only doing what they would do (not that they would care about Mom, but they would have let the woods catch fire), I was being influenced and used by them.

"You're right." I didn't even know I had said those words. They slipped out. I didn't want to believe that, or that I had smirked in the face of my save-the-world-or-everyone-dies plan that had been in session for over a year and done the complete opposite.

I grabbed up the TV remote and switched it off. Arizona News was still on, which meant the station was still there. The station was just outside of Mesa.

Slowly the weather report came to an end and Marley Brown (I recognized her from that crowd after the grocery store where I first met Cindy) popped back on the screen. A _Breaking News_ sign circled around her.

"We just got updates on our earlier story, about a bombing in Mesa. It's still unclear who may be responsible for this terrorist attack, but investigators think it may be connected to the hospital shooting" - It showed a picture of the hospital Fang and I were in where this whole thing crashed down - "and the airplane bombings in Chicago and Philadelphia" - pictures of exploding airplanes popped up - "but it's still unknown."

"Officials have been searching for bodies, firefighters trying to put out flames, and ambulances gathering the injured. There has been an estimated 200,000 deaths and over 100,000 critically injured. Thousands were away for Christmas holidays, thankfully, but over five-sixth of them will not have a home to come to. There has been no reported damage other then fire outside the Mesa city limits. We will notify you when more information is available."

I flipped the TV off and turned to Fang. "If they weren't in the city limits, they'll be okay!"

"We don't know that they weren't."

"Do you want to find them, Fang?" I felt those little worry lines appear on my forehead. "Cause right now it doesn't look like it." Sure, it's not unusual for Fang to be pessimistic, but this was too much, even for me.

"Of course I want to find them!"

"Well, Mesa is only a teeny tiny fraction of America. It's not likely that they were in Mesa when the bombs went off."

"Then how do you expect to find them?"

He had a point. I had no idea how I would find Ella and Angel. "Well, I'm not sure. But I know one thing, I'll start with the cities around Mesa."

"Well, I'll go with you."

"No, you need to stay here in case Iggy or Nudge needs us." I didn't want to tell him that I didn't want him to go. Why? I had no idea. Oh my goodness, I'm turning more and more like Cindy's punks! Great. "If they wake up and neither of us is here, they'll freak."

"Like you said, Mesa is just a teeny tiny percent of America. You'll need help. Plus, it's not like we're leaving tonight. We can wait until they're awake and tell them."

Well, of course they wouldn't oppose an idea/search for you and Angel.

-Maximum


	51. November 29, 2010

**I am EXTREMELY sorry! I've had a lot on my plate - school projects, changing churches, Bible Bowl, theater, my parents are trying to remodel our whole house, and lets not forget THANKSGIVING! We traveled to Texas to see Dad's side of the family. I know I have a lot to be thankful for surrounded by my loving family and the most amazing friends you could ask for. **

**Ella is in this chapter. Like the chapter where Ella was visiting - I will be saying 'Ella' instead of 'you'.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**November 29, 2010**

Mom was killed when the bomb exploded in her yard (She's have to me Superwoman to survive it - I don't even think Superwoman could). But there's a lot more to this story then just Mom dying... and I warn you, it's shocking. You may not what you believe this about our mother, Ella, but neither did I.

Fang did eventually convince me to let him come. I was a little nervous about going back to Arizona - I didn't know what I would find.

Everything was bombed. Ash was all over the ground, few buildings standing.

"Max!" Ella's voice yelled. "Fang!" Leaves in the woods rustled before Ella jumped out. They ran up and hugged us.

"Ella!" I gasped. I held her head at arms length from me. "You didn't get hit by the bombs? Is Mom okay? How did you get here? Where's Angel? She's not hurt, is she? You're not hurt? Do you know who attacked Mesa? Are they gone? What -"

Fang shot me a 'shut it' look.

Tears were streaming Ella's face. "I can't find Angel! We were separated running from the bombs! I - I heard the first one go off across town and Mom told me to leave. I - I ran with Angel. Or I thought I was. I turned around and she wasn't there! Max, I don't know where she could have gone but if something happened to her -"

"Ella! We'll find her, I promise. Do you know what happened to Mom?"

Fear crossed Ella's face as she cried more. "It's terrible! I came back and she - she was laying on the ground dead!"

I froze. So Mom was... dead. I pulled Ella into a hug. Fang wrapped his arms around us both.

"That - that isn't the worst part!" Ella cried, her voice muffled. We let her go. "I woke up night before last. We were staying in a hotel on the border. I went to go get a glass of water and overheard her on the phone. She was making arrangements for a bombing in Mesa."

"Are you sure you heard her correctly?" Fang asked. "You must have been tired. It may have been a dream."

She shook her head. "It wasn't. I hit my funny bone on the table. There's no denying that pain. But that was when Mom hung up. I heard her whisper 'Someone's coming. Make sure you get bombs under _all_ of Mesa. I'll be there tomorrow.' She didn't think anyone could hear her."

"She could have said something else," I suggested. "You could have misunderstood her."

"I hope I did. I don't want to believe that Mom would have been involved in a scheme like that." Suddenly she stood straight up and fished in her pockets. "I found a crumpled up note under the table when I tried to get water!" She pulled out a slip of paper and pried it open, handing it to me.

_Steve - _

_Mesa bombing tomorrow at 9. Then Vancouver subway the next day at 5. Don't forget, or I'll report you._

_Val M._

"Vancouver," I repeated. "Five in the morning or five at night?"

Fang checked his watch. "We'll be prepared or both. It's eight P.M."

I nodded. "Fang - you head to Vancouver and try to stop the subway bombing. I'm going to try and find Angel with Ella. We'll be there as soon as we can."

Fang nodded and spread his wings.

"Ella," I said, "show me where you went with Angel."

Ella took my hand. "I don't really remember which way we went... down one of the paths behind the house. You go down one and I go down another?" she asked as we walked to the back of the house. Two dirt paths went opposite directions behind the water heater.

"No. We don't need to be split up again. Let's... go down this path." I pulled her down the closest path to us.

After about two hours of walking, it was obvious both of us were getting tired. I wanted to pull out my wings and fly, but we could pass Angel and never see her. She might not hear me if she's unconscious or - no, Max. Don't think about the d-word.

"Max," Ella complained. "My feet hurt. I don't think Angel is here. I didn't go this far."

I just just about to say 'lets go back' when the word _Help_ screamed in my head.

"Stop!" a deep voice boomed. Both of us jumped. "Not another step or the little girl gets it!"

I peered into the woods. Dragon Guy held an unconscious Angel with a knife to her throat. Our hands shot up in the air. "Just - don't hurt her!" I pleaded.

Dragon Guy laughed as he stepped out of the darkness. "I don't have to. Steve is already in Vancouver. You're little friend is headed right for our subway bombing."

My mouth dropped. "But - but I thought that was tomorrow! I found a note from... my mom..."

"Val is your mom? Wow, you must be disappointed. Didn't know little Mommy would be in on anything like this, did you?" His laughter boomed off the trees. "No worries. My bomb killed her. You'll never have to face her knowing what she really did. You'll still have nothing but good memories of her when she was... alive."

Ella yanked her hand from mine as she dropped to her knees. "Mom was in on everything!"

I laid a hand on her back, but didn't look away from Dragon Guy's ugly face. "But the note said tomorrow at nine. Not tonight."

"Val got rid of that. She called Steve and decided on tonight. She thought it would help more on our Never-Know-Where-They'll-Strike-Next thing."

"But... but..."

"But you're little boyfriend will be walking right into that subway station when the bombs go off."

-Maximum


	52. December 10, 2010

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**December 10, 2010**

Nothing has ever scared me as much as Dragon Guy telling me Fang was headed for death. My heart stopped beating, my breath caught in my throat, I froze, just like the rest of the world. Everything happened in a flash, a blur. But Dragon Guy was on the ground, uncoscious, Angel slowly waking up, and flying for the Canadian border.

Wait - How would he know what subway Fang was headed for - or any subway at all? Fang has wings, he could fly faster than any subway. An hour wasn't enough time to fly from Arizona to Canada, not even on a jet. How could I have not realized he was tricking me?

"Angel, let's turn around," I said, ajusting my grip on Ella's arm. Goodness - she gets heavy after a while. Why couldn't she have wings?

Angel looked at me like I had twenty heads. "What are you talking about? Do you _want_ Fang to die?"

"He tricked us! Fang couldn't have gotten to Canada in an hour."

She swallowed, and slowly came to a stop.

And tricking us to go for the Canadian border let him escape.

We had already been flying for ten minutes. Twenty minutes after we took off, we arrived back in the woods behind Mom's house. Sure enough, there was no Dragon Guy in sight. We searched the woods through and through, and didn't find a trace of him.

"Why did he take me and scare us to death just to run off?" Angel said, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head.

"He wouldn't have," I answered. "They're like Erasers, they show up for a purpose." Even though the Erasers only wanted to murder us. "He would have left before the bombs exploded. We ... we... maybe we caught him in the middle of something, or ..."

Ella felt her hair. "I don't know about you guys, but I have soot caking my hair. I just want to reast and get a warm bath."

I nodded. "Okay. Let's go back to the hospital where Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy are." Angel and I grabbed Ella's elbows and jumped to the sky.

I would have to get in touch with Fang somehow. But there's only one cell phone - and I have it. I can't just call a public phone and hope he's by it - he's probably not even in Canada yet. There's no way I can reach him - and when I don't show up, he'll think something has happened to all of us.

Gazzy had been placed in the same room as the rest of the flock. Angel and I sat in recliners while Ella was taking her warm bath.

"...Max?" someone asked. My head popped up. Iggy was trying to sit up, clutching his shoulder. His voice was low and raspy. I ran to his bedside. "Where - where's Fang? And Ella?"

"Ella's in the shower, and -" My voice caught in my throat. I'd have to tell him about Mom. "Fang's in Canada. We - we found the next location bombing."

"Ella wanted to come back to get all of the soot out of her h -" I sent her a warning look. Her face turned red as Iggy's cold blind eyes turned to me, or the top of my head.

He fowned. "Soot?"

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, Iggy. Soot. Mesa was destroyed by bombs. And ... Mom was killed. She's how we know where the next bombs are scheduled to go off. Ella overheard her phone call and found a piece of paper she wrote to those men. Fang went to Canada to try and stop them."

"He'll get killed!"

"I know." I stared at the floor. "But there's no way to contact him."

"Go on to Canada and find him," Iggy said. I raised my head. "I'll keep charge while your gone."

I nodded. "Thank you, Iggy."

So, I went out and stole another iPhone, leaving one with Iggy and taking the other with me so we could get in touch with each other. The next morning I packed my backpack and went towards Canada. Poor Fang woun't be -

I just realized I left a blind guy in charge of five kids, two of whom are injured?

Oh, goodness, what have I done?

-Maximum


	53. December 21, 2010

**I really wasn't sure about this chapter. It was hard to write. Please review and tell me how I did!**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**December 21, 2010**

"Iggy?" Fang asked. "You left Iggy in charge? The last time he was in charge our house blew up!"

"It didn't blow up. That was an Eraser trick, remember?" I said. I laid down and used my backpack as a pillow on the grass. We were in a Canadian park, feet away from a subway tunnel entrance. That's how I found Fang - he was checking out the tunnel. There was no bomb, anywhere.

Fang sat down beside me. "I'm telling you, there's no bomb in any subway in Vancouver. I checked all of them at least ten times. Nothing is there."

I told him about Dragon Guy's trick for his escape, and how he was gone when we got back. "I can't believe we were so stupid. I bet this is a trick too, to get us out of the way so he can blow something up in a United States." A thought hit me in the gut like a kickball. If they blow up another hospital, I will personally hunt them down and snap their necks.

"I bet. And you said that Dr. M died? I bet she didn't die, either. She's probably in hiding."

"Yeah, I - you were there when we heard Mom died. You said 'you said.' I didn't say anything." But it was a good idea, that I didn't want to believe. I hadn't even grasped that Mom was evil, or dead. Or that she was responsible for those evil men, maybe even Cindy. Or maybe Cindy was in charge of Mom and sent her in charge if anything happened to her, like a godmother.

"Well, I -"

"GET OFF ME!" a voice yelled behind us. A boy with black emo hair jumped out of the subway tunnel entrance, trying to shake off two men. I saw a familiar tattoo on the arm of one of the men - of a dragon breathing fire. Dragon Guy. The boy lifted his head. Fang?

I jumped to my feet, as did Fang. My eyes swiveled between the two Fangs, the one standing beside me and the one fighting Dragon Guy. One of them was a clone.

"Max?" The Fang fighting Dragon Guy looked up and saw me. With a few solid punches he knocked out both of the men and walked towards me. "Who's -" He eyed the other Fang mysteriously. "Who's your friend?" Both Fangs looked as surprised as... anyone would.

"I'm not sure..." I said. My eyebrows raised as I looked between them. "One of you is a clone." Did anyone else notice that the Fang beside me was a little too chatty? The 'you said' mess up really made me realize who was the clone. I turned my head and crossed my arms as I watched the Clone Fang beside me.

In one swift move Clone Fang had my hands behind my head in a tight grip I couldn't escape. I flipped over and kicked him in the head. Fang grabbed his arm and jerked it back - in one gross snap it was broken. I swung around, tripping him, as Fang held Clone Fang down. "Where's the bomb?" Fang asked, ice in his voice.

"What bomb?" Clone Fang said. He looked at me. "Max, get this clone off me!"

"Liar!" Fang said, stepping on Clone's stomach. "Where. Is. The. Bomb?"

"You'll never get it out of me!"

Fang put more of his weight on Clone. "I know you put it somewhere." He put more of his weight on his stomach.

"I don't know where it is!" He shoved Fang down. Wow, that clone was strong. His glare switchedfrom me to Fang and back again. "I will be back," he promised. He unfolded his wings (just like Fang's!) and jumped for the trees. I heard the gasps of Canadian onlookers as they watched him fly into the clouds.

Then there was a BOOM! as the subway tunnel exploded. Bloody screams pierced the air of the people in the park and subway tunnel. Fang and I were thrown back from the explosion, with probably second degree burns, but we were still alive. The ground was scorched black with soot, a few screams still able to be heard of the hurt and wounded, ambulance sirens were heard.

At least one good thing came out of this. Dragon Guy and Scar Dude were right beside the entrance.

-Maximum


	54. December 28, 2010

**I. FREAKIN. HATE. THIS. CHAPTER! But I'm posting it anyway cause I'm that determined. Please send flames if you feel this chapter was bad. Please. I'm begging you.**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**December 28, 2010**

Dragon Guy and Scar Dude were both dead. They died in the explosion. I guess that makes my job of finding them easier. Now I just had to find Mom, and I'm not sure how I'm going to do that. Both Fang's have survived, and I'm not sure which is the real one. When I find out, I'm not letting the real one out of my sight until I kill the other.

That would be bad if I thought the wrong one was the right one.

I woke up on the side of a road, traffic picking up again, with a terrible headache. I don't think I had any broken bones, but there's really no way to tell. I heard The Band Perry's song, If I Die Young, blast across the road. My backpack. I stood up and ran to it, pulling out my iPhone and answering it.

"Max!" all the younger kids yelled. No doubt it was on speaker phone. "I heard about the explosion in Canada," Iggy said. "Are you okay?"

"We were in the explosion," I said. "Me and Fang, and Fang's clone. I don't know where they are."

"Fang has a clone?" Ella asked.

"Max," Angel said. "There's always something different about the clones. Watch for something Fang wouldn't normally do. that will show you which is the clone and which is the real Fang. Just like the clone Max volenteered to cook." I heard gagging noises.

"You're so lucky I'm not there," I hissed. "I'll watch for differences in the Fangs. I'll call you guys back when I find them. I gotta go. Please be safe!"

"We will be," Iggy said. "Good luck, Max."

I pressed the red END on the touch pad, and packed it safely in my backpack. I threw it over my shoulder and tried to find the two Fangs.

They couldn't have been far from where I landed, we were standing side by side. I throughly checked the woods around the place where I landed, and still didn't see them. "Fang!" I yelled. No respose. I yelled again, and heard a mumble from the tree tops. One of the Fangs was purched on a tree limb, just regaining consiousness.

The Fang jumped from the tree and landed right in front of me. "Where's the clone?" he said.

"I'm not convinced that you aren't him," I said. But I grabbed his wrist and pulled him with me, both of us calling for the other Fang. After a few minutes of searching, we found the other Fang under a big oak, still unconcious, but stirring.

My eyes fluttered from one Fang to the other, looking for any differences. No, they looked exactly the same. There was no way of telling who the clone was by looking at him. I waited until both Fangs were up on their feet. They were even the same height, to the millimeter.

I crossed my arms, still studying them, sure that I would find a difference. No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find anything.

So the differences Angel mentioned weren't physical, they were mental.

_Not everything is the same,_ the Voice said. I jumped. I hadn't heard from it in months. _Just like finger and lip prints are different on everyone, it's also a little different on clones._

I remember reading a study that says everyone kissed differently. I didn't know if it was true, or where I read it, but it was worth a shot. I walked up to each of the Fangs and kissed them. Sure enough, they were a little different.

I grinned. One looked more nervous than the other. And the nervous one kissed differently then Fang.

Slowly, I moved the Fang on the left. "I know you're the clone," I told the other Fang. "Don't deny it."

"The scientists said it couldn't be confirmend," he hissed. "I guess they forgot Fang is your boyfriend. So what if I'm the clone?"

I stopped Fang before he could pounce on the clone. "No," I said. "I'm not going to confuse you two again."

The clone didn't put up much of a fight, it was easy for me to kill him.

"We need to find Mom," I said.

"We will," Fang promised.

-Maximum


	55. December 31, 2010

**This will probably be the last chapter - but if I get enough reviews I might add another, and you will NOT be disappointed with the other (If I post it!)!**

**I can't believe it's the end of 2010! Hope you had a great year, and a very happy New Year!**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**December 31, 2010**

"Max."

My eyes snapped open.

I had been sleeping on a park bench, so short my legs were hanging over the sides, putting even more strain on my back. The tough wood was practically crushing my back (and wing) muscles. Maybe the grass would have been a more comfortable choice. Needless to say, my sleep was horrible.

But I hauled myself up, my muscles complaining the whole time, and turned around. Fang was there, a smirk on his face. And standing next to him was - Mom.

"Where did you find her?" I asked, standing up and hobbling over.

"Roaming the streets in the outskirts of Vancouver," he said. "Didn't put up much of a cover."

Mom looked confused - the hypocrite. "Why would I need a cover?" she said. "The blast in my yard - I couldn't find my way back. And I wandered... where are we?"

I felt tears in my eyes. "Don't play innocent. I know your behind the terrorist attacks. You're little friends you sent to do your dirty work, they're dead. Along with the clone of Fang you probably sent to get to me. You should be ashamed of yourself." A tear escaped and cut like a knife down my cheek, the warm tear leaving a track on my face.

I saw a flash of pain in her eyes, I caught her. "Max, how could you think that? Honey, don't cry." She extended her arms for a hug and tried to catch me - I jumped away. Fang grabber her arm, just in case she tried to escape. "What are you talking about, dead."

"Give it up! You know exactly what I'm talking about!" I hissed. Mom glared up at me.

"Maximum," she grumbled, "you know just as well as I do I would never do anything like that. I can't be ashamed of myself, I didn't do anything. You should be ashamed for even thinking I would do such things!" Her eyes widened, like she was trying (and failing) to strike a nerve or make me nervous.

I pulled out the note Ella found from my backpack. I couldn't look at it, or repeat what it said in my head. I just couldn't. "Then explain this." I held it in front of her face.

"Why were you snooping in my - someone else's trash?" Does she think I'm a moron?

I gave her the glare I gave to Iggy and Gazzy when the car 'magically' blew up. "I wasn't snooping through your trash. Ella found it when she went to get water and overheard you on the phone with your minions." She froze and glared at me.

"That little snitch!" she growled. "She knows she's not supposed to drink anything after eleven..." She froze and glanced up at us, realizing she was caught. "Fine, I sent the note. So what? You just now realized who it was?" She laughed.

I grabbed her arms and shoved her on the bench. "Tell. Me."

"If you'll let me go, I will!" she hissed. I hesitated to release her arms, but stood prepared if she tried to escape. "Just know that I wasn't always like this, and thats the truth. When you and Fang went to New York after the boys, Cindy showed up at our doorstep."

I hissed. Cindy did this, of course.

"She talked me into teaming with her, but I didn't say so in front of the kids. When they went to bed, I called her and told her I was in. She was already on her way to New York to go after you. I promise, I didn't tell her about New York! I don't know how she knew."

Too bad we didn't have time to interrogate Cindy before we killed her. "Why?" I asked. "What did she said that convinced you?"

Mom looked uncomfortable. "She said that if I didn't join her, she would kill both of you."

Fang's face was red. He threw down his backpack and clutched his head in his hands, stalking away from us. He punched the nearest tree he found and climbed up it.

"She didn't keep her promise," I said. "You joined her and she still tried to kill us, multiple times. And Fang's real family." Tears came in my eyes. "She actually did kill Analie!" I remembered the terror that came over me when I saw that Analie was dead. Everything seemed to fall apart at that moment.

"Fang's little sister?" she asked. I nodded. "I feel terrible. But anyway, after she came back and you killed her, those guys called me. I think you call them Scar and Dragon? But they called me, and said that since Cindy was dead, I would be their new leader. They said I had to do it or they'd kill everyone I loved."

I sighed, wiping the tears from my cheeks. "They didn't keep that, either."

"Yes, they did." I glanced up at her, meeting her eyes. Almost everyone in Mesa was dead, all her friends. "They didn't kill the people I loved most. Why do you think you all got away in the hospital shooting? They weren't trying to kill you, just to run you out."

"Do you know how many people you killed?" I shouted. "Thousands - millions of people!"

Mom wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffled. "I know!" She sounded like she was on the verge of a complete breakdown. "I was blinded - they blinded me. I didn't realize what I was doing. I didn't realize the impact it would have."

"How can you blow up a hospital or a town or a subway and not realize it would have a huge impact?"

"I don't know! I know it was wrong, I'll never do it again."

I glared at her. "Fine. One more question. In my dream, one of those guys called my Hilary."

"When I was young, I wanted my first daughter to be named Hilary. I wanted to name you Hilary. But Jeb wanted an egg to take in for those lousy experiment testings and didn't let me name you. Ella's dad named her, I still liked the name Hilary. It was what you're name would be of you were, well, without the wings."

So I _was_ Hilary. "I still don't have to leave America, do I?"

"You already left America. This is Canada, remember? But no, you don't have to stay out. But you and Fang do have to come back with me."

I shook my head. "No, I'm not going back with you. Fang will agree. And I'm not letting Iggy or the kids go back with you, either. We'll go back to get them, but I can't trust you again. We're not staying with you anymore, and nothing you can say will change my mind."

"Then where will you go?"

I didn't hesitate or have to think to tell her. "Back to New York, with Fang's mother. She welcomed us back any time. And if she kicks us out, we've been on our own before. We'll survive." I glanced up at the tree Fang was in. Leaves rustled, but he didn't jump down.

"Fang can go to his family, but you need to come home. With me."

"No, the flock isn't splitting up again. As soon as we're done talking, Fang and I are going to go get the others, and we're doing to Mary Lou's home. And Ella, she can go wherever she wants." I didn't want violence against my mom, even if she was the worst mother in history.

"You and Ella will stay with me, young lady. The rest of the flock can live with Fang's mother if they want to, but you're staying where you belong."

"I don't belong in Mesa. I have a mission, in case you forgot." I didn't mention that I had forgotten, too. "To save the world. And I can't do it in Mesa, especially since it's been blown to bits by you yourself." I narrowed my eyes at her. The more she argued with me, the more I was sure that I was going to Mary Lou.

"Then we'll find somewhere else to live. We'll move to Pheniox."

"No. Nothing you can say will make me go back with you." I looked at the tree. "Fang! Come on, we're going to live with your mother." The leaves rustled again before he jumped down. _Let's get out of here,_ I mouthed. He nodded and we spread our wings.

"Maximum Hilary Ride!" Mom hissed. She grabbed my foot and threw me on the ground. "Do not argue with me." She grabbed my wrist and jerked me up.

With one good tug I pulled my wrist from her grasp. She tried to grab me again, but I pushed her back. Way to hard. She hit her head on the bench and was knocked unconsious. Fang flew down and landed beside me. "Do it, Max. We can't let her on the loose again."

I nodded and, tears streaming down my cheeks, broke her neck before I could give it too much thought.

So we did go back to the hosptial, and all of us, even Ella, agreed to go to Mary Lou's. They were all feeling good enough for the flight, and Fang and Iggy carried Ella. Mary Lou was happy to take us in. Ella and I were put in Analie's old room.

It was just as she left it. Pink zebra-pattern wallpaper, a twin bed, a pink backpack thrown in a wooden chair in the corner waiting for a first-time use. Dolls were everywhere, and a bookshelf full of glass dolphins sat against the wall. Pictures of Analie were all over the walls, with some girls at what looked like a daycare center, her and Mary Lou, her on the beach.

There was a fram laying on her oak dresser. I picked it up and almost started crying. The back was gone from the frame, with the example picture still halfway out of it. Laying beside it was a picture of Fang and I side by side, Analie in front of us. She never got the chance to hang it up.

-Maximum


	56. Afterward

**I only had four reviews, but I thought I'd be nice and post this.**

**How has everyone's year been going?**

**Journal NOT a Diary!**

**Max's Journal**

**Afterwards**

One Monday night a month Mary Lou would gather us around a match-made fire and serve BBQ Iggy grilled. It was something for all of us to look forward to through the month. It gave us all a chance to talk, and share stories of fun moments through the month.

Iggy and Ella were together, Mary Lou had a new boyfriend, and Fang and I were getting closer every day. Three months ago when Mary Lou hosted the BBQ, Fang announced he had something important to say before we ate. Iggy stopped grilling, the kids stopped talking to listen to him. We'd been at Mary Lou's for about about twenty years. Fang and I had a home of our own, Ella and Iggy were going house searching, Nudge was just on the lookout for a boyfriend.

Slowly, Fang pulled out a ring and got on one knee in front of me. Needless to say, it was the best night of my life. We're getting married next year.

I was going through the attic bozes the next day to find a cooking platter Fang and I needed (no, I wasn't cooking, Fang had a hidden talent for an oven). I ran across a box from Analie's room, that we had packed up to make room and my and Ella's junk.

Inside was this diary.

So, for an hour I was sitting against the box, reading this. Wow, I had a messed up life. I still explicitly remember killing Mom like it was yesterday, though I don't like to think about it much. I still explicitly remember being in that cellar under the house, and finding Analie and seeing her die.

Analie's room was coming apart. The wallpaper was peeling, the carpet coming up around the edges. All of us agree we're not doing anything to it until it comes off on its own. It wouldn't be right. Her bookself of dolphines and pictures are still where she left them, and won't be touched anytime soon.

Analie does come up sometimes between us. But we never talk about it with Mary Lou, she doesn't to us about her. I know she comes up in Mary Lou's thoughts, I'll see hurt on her face whenever Ella mentions her room or we do something she and Analie use to do. I don't blame her for not wanting to talk about. She should be with us.

Ella still hasn't read this, except when she came and smeared all that makeup on my face (I still don't wear any, by the way). After I finish writing this, Ella will read it. I haven't read over it until now, and it's probably a good thing I didn't. Knowing me, I would have been spazzing out.

This diary isn't going in the garbage. It's coming home with me and Fang once everyone reads it, and being kept. I'm sure the children Fang and I will have will want to read it, when they're old enough. I'll read it time and time again, focusing back when I was fourteen.

Which reminds me, Ella has never given me the rest of that money she promised. I'm not worring about it now, I'm glad I did it. There are so many things I've forgotten that I probably shouldn't have, written down in this diary. Don't worry about it, Ella. Save that eighty dollars for the house you and Iggy are planning to buy. It's not a big deal anymore.

Fwilliam. Hehe.

I just thought about Fnick. Happy times.

I wonder if I can convince the preacher to say Fnick during out wedding vows.

Probably not.

Other then our wings, our lives have been... well... _normal..._ that word hardly fits properly. But we haven't been kidnapped or hunted, no accidents (except last summer then Gazzy pushed Angel from a tree and broke her arm). Gazzy and Iggy don't blow much up anymore, luckily. We even have some friends up in the city.

Every Thanksgiving we all go up to Kansas to spend with Mary Lou's family. They don't even know we have wings. Her parents are getting older, her father practically living in a hospital. None of us expect many more years for him in the world.

Well, there isn't much going on in our lives now. I don't regrete killing Mom, Fang was right, I had to do it. If I had gone home with Mom we would probably be dead by now. Our lives are good and looking up, and I don't expect that to change.

I guess I better let Ella and the others start reading this if they're going to finish it before the sun goes down. (Kenny Chesney's song just popped in my head._ When the sun goes down, we'll be groovin when the sun goes down, we'll be feeling all right._ Blame Nudge and her sudden love for Chesney Boy.)

So, this is the last entry I'll make in this. I'm on the last page, so I better stop before I run out of room. It's been fun keeping this diary and reading over it. I hope you like it, Ella. I guess this is it. Goodbye, diary.

-Maximum


End file.
